Through Their Eyes
by Blackstorm808
Summary: Fate's the ace enforcer for the Riot force six. Her team has been investigating the enigmatic White Devil-a criminal that's known everywhere for her cold demeanor and raw power. While undercover at a Okazu highschool Fate is unwittingly drawn to Nanoha..
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:Fate's the ace lightning mage for the Bureau. Her team has been investigating the enigmatic White Devil-a criminal that's known everywhere for her cold demeanor and raw power. While undercover at a boarding school Fate is unwittingly drawn to Nanoha who acts devilish with a complete Nanoha flare. Not everything is as it seems though. Watch as their world tumbles in around them and see if they can come out stronger, or if their own darkness will consume them.**

**Woah can't believe I decided to write another story especially since I can't seem to finish the other two-_- but for some reason this one has been buzzing in my brain for days, and for those of you that have read or seen my writing style...eh it's evolved a bit since the last time I wrote something-almost to the point where it looks like a different author. It's not^^ I'm just learning new tricks to the writing game.**

**Anyways don't let this chappie confuse you.**

**It's an eventual NanoFate**

**Read and Enjoy.**

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><p>Too slow.<p>

Fate's lips thinned into a grim line as she vaulted over the fence, landing deftly in a crouch. Everyone else was too slow. Before her feet had even hit the ground she was in motion again. Her surroundings blurred around her as she gathered her magic and directed it at the locked door in front of her. Lightning burst from her fingertips, and the door exploded inward. She couldn't afford to wait for her unit. By the time they got here the White Devil would be long gone.

Her crimson gaze swept over the room and landed on a figure clothed completely in white.

Fate stiffened.

Her heart began to beat erratically.

This had happened every time. Fate had been trailing this enigmatic thief for months. It had become a game almost. The White Devil would steal some priceless artifact of some unknown origin, Fate would attempt to stop her, the thief would then flirt incessantly with her-possibly grope her and then leave without so much as a scratch on her. The masked thief enamored completely in white was rapidly becoming an obsession for the lightning mage, she had to capture her.

As if intuitively the thief had known she was there- the White Devil's piercing blue eyes met hers from across the room. "Sparky…you're late."

She shivered, but refused to look away.

"Put it back." Her voice came out in a rasp.

"But I went through all the trouble of stealing it." The thief all but whined, her eyes shining with mirth.

"Well maybe if you put less effort into illegal activities it wouldn't be so troublesome when I came to stop you. " Fate murmured softly.

Her criminal adversary chuckled, and held the stolen jewel up in the air."But it's so shiny." It's emerald sides caught the moonlight casting a pale green glow over the room. The thief's Cheshire grin widened into something that was purely sadistic, "Besides if I stop my illegal activities then I can't see my beloved Fate-chan anymore." in the time it took to blink the White Devil had disappeared from her sight completely.

Fate's eyes narrowed.

Not again.

With no warning, arms encircled her waist from behind and she felt a warm breath on her neck. Fate's cheeks burned with embarrassment.

"I'd miss you."

Fate trembled in the embrace.

This was her enemy. A criminal. She was uniformed officer, and the leader of the Riot six force. They were not compatible. Fate could not find the words to express how wrong it was to be encircled in the embrace of a criminal and future convict. At the same time though, she was hesitant to move. Her head began to swim.

She had studied the White Devil for months now. Although the thief was known to be flirtatious, sarcastic, and unreasonably difficult to fight, she was not evil. Half the time she barely seemed interested in what she was taking.

Everything that's been stolen by her has gone to someone else…probably.

So why?

Why was stealing so important? What could the White Devil possibly be hiding?

A hand gently caressed her cheek, and Fate slowly tuned back into her surroundings. She slowly turned in the embrace so she was facing her adversary head on. Intense blue eyes studied her blank expression. The White Devil tsked disapprovingly.

"Silly Fate we're in the middle of a war museum with highly reactive weapons technology. Isn't it a bit dangerous to zone out here?"

"You say that and yet we both know you're the most dangerous thing here."

The thief gave her a disbelieving 'who me?' look.

Fate sighed, and wriggled out of the embrace.

"Bardiche."

Lightning crackled in response to her words. Slowly but surely the electricity writhed and lengthened to form a long spear. She grasped her weapon, deftly twirling it in her hand, and pointed the tip at her enemy.

The White Devil grinned indulgently but did not summon her own weapon.

Of course.

Rumors had circulated about the utter power, and destruction the White Devil was capable of.

….But the thief was adamant about not fighting her.

Fate had never even seen her weapon.

Suddenly there was a shout, and the distinct clank of metal. Fate craned her neck to see the source of the noise, and was surprised when the thief dashed forward in a leaping tackle and grabbed Fate. Her grip tightened around the lightning mage's waist as she leapt into the air. Mere seconds later the ground exploded where they had been standing. They hovered in the air as the fire fanned out across the floor devouring everything in sight. Fate sighed despairingly as the thief set her down on a nearby staircase.

There was an awkward silence.

Fate turned to the thief accusingly.

"Why did you save me?"

The white cloaked thief stared at her perplexed.

"Was I supposed to let you get set on fire?" At her frustrated expression the White Devil chuckled. " Sparky, don't be mad just because you can't use your text book psychology to figure me out, or because 90% of the rumors about me are false. After all…"

Fate felt a gentle hand grip her chin forcing her to look up.

"I still like you."

Soft lips ghosted against her own.

Then like a wraith the White Devil was gone.

The lightning mage stood frozen, her eyes unfocused.

"Fateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee."

Even as her team swarmed around her, all she could think was:

She

Stole

My

First

Kiss

She struggled to voice her displeasure.

"…Devil…ish..neh…good…."

Even from her distorted perspective the words were garbled.

Her mouth was disobeying her brain.

MUTINY!

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><p><em>The next day<em>

Fate sat drowning in paper work because of another failed mission. Around her sat the rest of her team, Signum her fellow front liner, Vita-the heavy hitter, Shamal-the team healer, Reinforce-the secret weapon, Arf-her familiar, and of course Hayate who was not only leader of Riot force but also the leader of the entire unit of mage fighers in Tokyo. She shuffled more papers her shoulders drooping tiredly.

Arf laid her head in Fate's lap staring worriedly up at the exhausted lightning mage.

"Testarossa."

Her gaze slid over to Signum. The pink haired mage glared back.

"You're overworking yourself again."

"I'm fine."

Vita, a rookie mage that was vertically challenged, yet virtually unbeatable in the training field -snorted.

"Please. You look like you got hit by a mac truck, that put it in reverse and hit you again when it realized you weren't dead."

Vita's descriptions of death were always so morbid. Fate sighed glancing at her team mates and trying to look reassuring.

"Guys really I'm fine."

Signum rolled her eyes.

"We have new information on the White Devil but since you look like your about to die, we should probably give this next mission to someone more capable."

Fate stood abruptly startling Arf. The golden furred wolf slipped off her lap with an audible thud but Fate was too busy glowering at Signum to notice. Her thoughts raced. They rarely ever got new information about this case. Adrenaline rushed through her body and urge to sleep left her. She was wide awake, and her interest was perked.

"What new information?"

From her place on the sofa, Hayate grinned evilly.

"The White Devil got careless." The team leader pawed through her jacket, and extracted a single pin. She threw the trinket at Fate who caught it deftly between her forefinger, and pointer finger. Her eyes narrowed at the seemingly insignificant piece of metal.

"What is this?"

"That dear Fate is a pin given to students at Okazu High at orientation. We cross checked it according to year, and it's this year's pin so that means…"

"She's a high school student."

Hayate clicked her tongue, and her eyes twinkled misheviously.

"It also means you have a new mission."

Fate stiffened not liking her bosses' change in demeanor or how everyone was suddenly smirking at her. The feeling of dread only increased when Hayate pulled out a folder labeled Fate Haralowan. Said folder was suddenly sent careening towards her face, and Fate quickly nabbed it out of the air. Shakily she paged through it's contents, her face becoming pale as she continued to read.

Vita fell over laughing.

"Testarossa's scared of high school! Hahhaha…oh god someone get Shamal, blondie here needs some happy pills."

Vita had seconds to move out of the way as a lightning bolt incinerated the wall behind her.

* * *

><p><em>(Elsewhere)<em>

"Nanoha! It's time for class we have to go!"

Nanoha responded by burying her face into Subaru's side.

The blunette looked down at the older girl an amused smile firmly planted on her face. "Nanoha. We really have to go."

The older girl either didn't hear her or didn't care. She snuggled closer, and Subaru sighed softly. These days Nanoha was always exhausted. She went out to steal random artifacts every night, and went to school during the days. When she wasn't stealing things or going to school she was inventing new weapons and upgrading Subaru's cybernetics.

The brunette rarely ever slept.

It was worrying.

Subaru's brow furrowed.

She had vowed to stick with Nanoha ever since the acclaimed White Devil had saved her from her own hell. As a child she had one sister and parents. Her parents died, and that left Subaru alone with no one but her sister-Ginga. However, one day a freak fire almost completely consumed them. Their bodies had to be almost completely rebuilt. Subaru and her sister were recreated to be more cyborg than human. That being said-nothing was the same after that. Ginga associated herself with the wrong people, people bent on chaos and anarchy, evil people. She tried to kill Subaru.

Nanoha saved her.

The White Devil had swooped in like a very angry, very demented angel.

Subaru had not left the brunette's side since then.

They may put on this farce of going to a human school, and having human friends but it wasn't the same. Subaru smiled dully. She did not value any of her human friends the way she valued Nanoha…except for one. Her mind wandered to what had been bothering her today. Tea was avoiding her. Ironic that the only human she really cares about at this high school is going out of her way to avoid her.

"Subaru."

Nanoha's piercing blue eyes stared up at her and the brunette let out a hefty yawn.

"You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Making that constipated expression that only shows up when you think about Tea."

Subaru blushed, her face growing hot.

"Nanoha!"

The brunette untangled herself from Subaru's lap giggling a bit, and rolled onto her side in the grass. "I really think you should just tell her that you like her."

Subaru shuffled uncomfortably. "It's a bad idea. "

Nanoha's melodious laughter made the cyborg scowl. "Alright alright stay in denial. It can't hurt seeing as you have no competition. Anyways let's go to school now-that way you can see your beloved Tea, and I can see my beloved pie."

The brunette stood up dusting off her uniform for all stray leaves and such. She offered a hand to Subaru who gratefully took it-heaving herself off the grass with a groan. Side by side the climbed down the grassy hill to side entrance of the school. Nanoha threw open the doors acting as if they weren't incredibly late for class, and waltzed down the hall way.

She paused in front of her psychology class, and peeped in.

The teacher was droning on and on about nothing of vast importance.

Subaru blinked as Nanoha then turned back to stare blankly at her.

"What?"

"We're not missing anything. I'm going home."

Was she serious? After noting the teasing glint to her eye was missing it was safe to say Nanoha had every intention of going home.

"Nanoha…you can't just leave school."

"Subaru, I've had a long night and I have to do another job in a couple of hours. I need to sleep."

Subaru paused hearing an unfamiliar note of defeat creeping into Nanoha's voice. She studied the brunette before her. The typical White Devil persona was gone. In it's place was a fragile teenage girl who was using every ounce of will power just to stand up straight. Dark bruising bags were under her eyes-foretelling countless nights without sleep. The cyborg winced, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to do this."

Nanoha chuckled darkly.

"But I do SO love my shiny toys." When Subaru's stoic expression didn't change Nanoha continued to speak, her voice solemn and her eyes dark with sadness. "Someone else started this game Subaru, I just decided to participate and now I'm going to win at any cost."

Subaru smiled grimly.

"And if the cost is your life?"

Nanoha punched Subaru companionably, a crazed grin stretching across her face.

"Then I'm going out screaming 'hell yeah! What a ride!"

Subaru could not stop the grin that spread across her face as Nanoha walked away-gliding over the tile as silently as the mist.

The White Devil indeed.

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><p>R and R<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Woot! Okay I was happily surprised with response to the first chapter. I luv you guys^^**

**Anyways a lot of people asked about the age thing between Nanoha and Fate. That gets answered in this chapter (although for all you skimmers Nanoha just turned 17 and Fate is about to turn 18) and just to warn people this chapter is darker than the first one. If you have a problem with death or killing I would not suggest reading further, and just in case some of you are like what the hell? How did it go from light hearted to morbid...bleh It won't stay that way. It goes back to being lighter for the next several chappies.**

**This is my first attempt at an epic length fic, and I think I'm in serious need of a beta. I second guessed this chappie a lot, and I'm pretty sure I missed a couple of errors but yeah anyways read and enjoy people.-_-'**

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><p>Nanoha after arriving in her dingy one bedroom apartment all but collapsed onto her futon. Her limbs felt abnormally heavy, and her eyes struggled to stay open. The mere thought of robbing a miscellaneous place so soon again was ridiculous. As if to emphasize her point her body began to spasm, and she was racked with a violent coughing fit. After a few minutes of uncontrollable hacking she shuddered and wiped the edge of her mouth clean . Instinctively she knew her hand was now streaked with blood but she could not bring herself to look at it.<p>

Her power was raw and untamed. It made her a formidable opponent, but it also overwhelmed her. Humans were not meant to channel this much energy. As a result her magic was eating away at her body. She placed a trembling hand over her eyes.

She had such vast stores of energy-Nanoha needed to cast large elaborate spells to empty even some of her reserves. The more she used magic, the safer she would be, but in a world where mages were the stuff of legend and magic only existed in children's stories-it was not safe. Humans tended to fear things they could not understand and of all the forces in nature magic was one of the most incomprehensible. Those that did know of it's existence were very few indeed. Organizations of varying types were familiar with or aware of mages. The government incorporated magic users into their operations.

Riot force six was a good example of an integrated unit of mages and humans.

Nanoha's thoughts wandered to the leader of said unit-a certain blonde with blood red eyes.

She had met Sparky for the first time a year ago.

The Tokyo police force had proven inept at stopping Nanoha's crime spree. She had heard whispers of them calling in a special task force. She hadn't given the rumor much thought until one night in the middle of a job-a soft spoken magic user a few years older than herself had stalked in waving a very dangerous looking spear at her. The alluring crimson eyed officer commanded her to come quietly, and return the micro chip she was holding.

Nanoha found the idea laughable.

In the old days she had stolen for the thrill and then sold her prizes. She never gave anything away-that would be immoral and stupid.

She told Fate as much.

The reserved blonde responded via a large lightning attack that if it had connected would have left Nanoha with painful third degree burns of varying shapes and sizes. The brunette remembered standing safely off to the side- gaping at the lightning mage and noting that in the aftermath of her attack, the law enforcer's face was flushed from the exertion.

Nothing had ever looked more enticing to her before.

From that point forward Nanoha had gone out of her way to tease the solemn officer. Each meeting she made sure to initiate contact. A caress. A hug. A devilish grin stretched across her face as she remembered the events from the night previous.

A kiss

Even last night with Fate itching for a fight, Nanoha only found the blonde's antics cute. She had no intention of fighting the lightning mage. After dealing with the blonde for some months now it was safe to assume that although Fate was powerful she lacked experience. In a couple of years the lightning mage would be able to utterly decimate her.

But for now…

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Nanoha groaned, and reached out for her cell. Loosely she grabbed it, flipping it open to the flashing text message received screen.

**Nanoha you're late. Some1's trying 2 steal the jewel. If you don't show up in 5 minutes it will be gone.**

**-Yunno**

The brunette had barely finished reading before she was in motion. She stumbled to her feet, and leapt over to her closet, ripping the sliding door open and grabbing her face mask. She swayed unsteadily on her feet at the quick motion, and had to grab the door frame to steady herself. Even after resting for an hour her body was still numb with exhaustion. She could not afford to rest though.

"Raising Heart. Set up."

Her murmured words set a ripple of power across the room. Her weapon pulsed with energy-a tiny glowing orb lengthening into a long ivory staff. Her regular clothes melted away and were replaced by white armor. Deftly she donned her mask.

"Raising Heart."

Her device pulsed once then she was wrapped in a cocoon of magic. A sensation that was similar to floating washed over her as her weapon answered her command transporting her to the coordinates Yunno had sent. Transportation took less than a second as quickly as her magic carried her, it disappeared. Upon arriving in the building she blinked in surprise. The room was the standard grey most museums were. Exhibits of varying kinds were strewn about the room. Historical artifacts excavated from the far reaches of the globe decorated the walls. Nothing seemed out of place except the magical force oppressing the room was so distinct-so unnatural it poked and prodded at her. Her headache returned tenfold and she grit her teeth.

Even to her fatigued senses something was wrong.

She was not alone.

"Locate the jewel Raising Heart."

Her weapon resonated, shining softly in response to her command, and a beam of light shot out lighting the way to her goal.

"That won't be necessary. We have you outnumbered, and out classed. The only way you'll be taking the jewel with you is over our dead bodies."

The cold voice made her pause. There were several people in the shadows. She could feel their magic trickling forth. Adrenaline pulsed through her body, and her senses became more attuned to her surroundings. For the first time she realized that her head ache did not stem from the massive buildup of magic in the room-it stemmed from the stench in the air. She could identify it now: the metallic odor of blood assaulted her senses. Nanoha's hand tightened around her staff, and she smiled icily at the darkness.

"That can be arranged."

And with that all hell broke loose.

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><p>"So where is Nanoha again?"<p>

The White Devil's motley group of friends all gathered around a long table at lunch. Subaru sat alone on one side, while Arisa and Suzuka sat on the other side. Subaru felt distinctly out of place with the other two. She was a Junior in high school while they were Seniors in Nanoha's class. They were not ostracizing her, but they were unfamiliar with each other. Strangers. The blunette only associated with these two when Nanoha was there, otherwise she spent her time hanging around Tea.

Subaru blew loose strands of hair out of her face, and met Arisa's demanding gaze.

"She was not feeling well. She decided to go home."

The aggressive blonde sighed, and sent the girl sitting next to them a despairing look. "Suzuka she's always goneeeee. Nanoha never used to ditch school this much."

The purple haired heiress sighed softly. "I'm sure she doesn't do it on purpose."

The scowl on Arisa's face did not disappear though. The blonde turned to Subaru. "And where's your cranky sidekick?

Her stomach wrenched at the question.

Something must have shown on her face because Suzuka elbowed Arisa sharply in the ribs.

Subaru didn't dignify the sharp tongued girl with a response. Idly she wondered the same thing. Where was Tea? She cast her gaze across the cafeteria searching for her elusive friend. Abruptly she got up from her seat, and began to look for her. She swept past a startled Arisa and Suzuka and paved her way through the throng of students. No Tea.

She pushed open the heavy metal doors and sidled down the hallway.

No Tea.

She paused at a window looking out over the school grounds and saw a very familiar set of pig tails.

What was Tea doing on the hillside?

…And who was that with her?

Her ornery friend had refused to be in the same vicinity as her for the last week or so-throwing out the excuse she was busy or had studying to do. Subaru was naïve not stupid. Tea spent most of her time training her fighting skills. She was not keen on homework. Both excuses were blatant lies. The blunette had the paranoid feeling that her human friend was avoiding her.

Her hand clenched into a fist.

Well that was depressing.

Beep Beep Beep

She blinked, and dragged out her cellphone flipping it open to the text message received screen.

**Nanoha needs u. Here are her coordinates.**

**-Yunno**

Subaru's brow wrinkled in confusion.

Wasn't Nanoha at home resting? She had just done a job less than twenty four hours ago. To accept another one so soon was not only reckless it was dangerous. A small smile quirked her lips as she thought of her friend. The brunette was incapable of resting. It irked her. With a sigh the cyborg pocketed her cell phone just as the bell rang signaling the time for class.

Yunno would not be texting her if Nanoha was not in some kind of morbid danger.

With that thought in mind Subaru quickened her pace, vaulting over the stairs and practically running out into the courtyard. She had to push her way past a throng of students trying to make their way to class. In her haste she wasn't watching her surroundings and barreled into another student, knocking them flat on the cement. She stumbled a bit, and then felt a rush of embarrassment as the student she ran over let out a pained groan.

"I'm so sorry."

"Subaru?"

Tea's voice startled her. She looked down, and to her shock the one she had so rudely bowled over was none other than Tea Lanster. A sheepish look crossed her face as she held out a hand to help the girl to her feet.

"Sorry, an emergency came up-I'm in a hurry."

The look Tea gave her was contemplative, and Subaru tilted her head to the side in puppyish confusion.

"What?"

"You're always in a rush somewhere, and you've been ditching school a lot lately. Where are you going this time?"

Subaru blinked. She did not want to lie-after all this was Tea. Her best friend would understand the truth if given it. However… There was no way to tell her the truth, in doing so she would betray Nanoha and the existence of magic, not only that but it would place Tea in danger as well. Her thoughts raced, and she settled for being reproachful. Her eyes gentled a bit.

"Tea I really can't talk now-there are some things that are personal, like if I asked you where you've been this week and who that boy was that you were with, would you answer?"

Tea's scowl was answer enough.

Subaru sighed, her bangs falling like a curtain across her face. "I have to go. We'll talk later."

She brushed past her fuming friend, a part of her wanting nothing more than to go back and fix the growing distance between her and Tea. Normally she would never leave her friend behind-not like this but Nanoha needed her help. Focusing on that one irrevocable fact Subaru pushed herself to a sprint rounding the corner and leaving the school area. She ducked around people zig zagging through the crowd.

It was winter so darkness came early. It was barely four o clock and already the sun was setting. Subaru instinctively hid herself in the ever growing shadows.

"Mach Caliber."

Her device pulsed once, and Subaru dialed in the coordinates Yunno had given her. Without her having to give the command her clothes began to shift, her school uniform lengthening to an overcoat. Her right arm shimmered, and Subaru grinned as her signature gauntlet slid into being.

"5 seconds to transportation my master."

Subaru nodded slowly.

In no time at all energy enveloped her, and she disappeared in flash of blue.

Subaru exploded out of her transportation mere seconds later falling on her hands in knees- her breath coming in quick short pants . She hated teleporting. She was told it felt like floating to some people. To her it felt like suffocation. She inhaled a fresh gulp of air, and immediately froze. Blood. That's all she could smell, the stench was so strong she could taste it. Shakily she got to her feet, her head swimming a little bit at the ominous feeling in the room. Something was severely wrong.

Carefully she picked her way through the building that she was now only starting to identify as a museum.

"Nanoha."

She called out her friend's name, not expecting to hear an answer and not getting one.

"Mach Caliber, try to get in touch with Raging Heart."

Her voice sounded strange in the vast room, echoing off the walls and increasing the eerie feeling she was getting. A chill went down her spine as her weapon complied, glowing once then falling silent. The sinister feeling would not leave her and Subaru licked her dry lips, her armored hand clenching into a tight fist.

"Master. Raging Heart has informed me that Nanoha is less than 800 meters in front of you. Go down the hall and take a right-she will be there."

"Thanks." She murmured gratefully. Without trying to seem like she was panicking Subaru rapidly descended down the hall her stride lengthening to a half run-quickly she turned to the right and moved to greet her friend with a smile "Nano…" The name died on her lips as she took in the sight in front of her. "ha…"

Dead people were strewn everywhere.

Blood.

Blood pooled across the granite floor soaking it red.

There among the distorted and crippled bodies of the dead stood her friend.

Nanoha's white barrier jacket was ripped, and torn. Blood stained her clothes and trickled down the side of her face. Subaru could not discern how much of the blood was Nanoha's and how much belonged to someone else. The ruined condition of her armor did not really bother Subaru, what really bothered the cyborg was the completely dead quality to her eyes. Nanoha's gaze was typically warm, and full of life. Now it was dull, and had an icy quality to it.

As the sound of police sirens became audible, Subaru stumbled towards the inert girl.

"We have to go."

Nanoha's silence caused an uncomfortable feeling the pit of her stomach, and she grabbed the brunette's arm guiding her away from the horrific scene.

The brunette's docile submission to be led away terrified her more than anything else that she had witnessed.

* * *

><p>Fate after receiving her new undercover mission and enduring an hour of teasing from her friends had gone home to recuperate. Her house consisted of a small condo and patio in the suburbs of Tokyo-paid for entirely by her salary as the leader of the Riot force six. Arf trailed in after her, letting out a puppyish yip then curling into a ball onto the couch and passing out. Fate could understand her familiar's exhaustion-this whole week had been tiring. Instead of resting though she had spent hours looking over her case portfolio.<p>

The White Devil was being abnormally active this week.

She found her thoughts once again turning to her adversary. She had been shocked to find out that the bane of her existence was little more than a high school student. What could possibly possess someone that young and powerful to steal when there were so many other options open?

Fate snorted derisively.

She was not in a position to talk. Fate was a AA class mage herself. There were very few in the magical world that could touch her, and she had to be the same age as the thief adorned in white. However, unlike the White Devil she never went to a high school- Fate had been home schooled for the majority of her life, and graduated early. Then due to special circumstances and the untimely suicide of her mother Fate had been drawn into the Bureau, and introduced to the Riot force six.

She smiled fondly at the memory, and plopped down on the couch-stroking Arf's silky fur.

After losing her mother at age 12 Fate was a mess. She had no motivation for anything. She was not truly living her life-she merely existed. She had no food-no house, nothing concrete to call her own except her familiar. The day Arf met another familiar on the streets was the day Fate's life changed forever. Zafira sensed her magical potential and within twenty four hours had led Hayate and the rest of the Riot six force to her location.

Signum had taken one look at her pitiful expression and told her thirteen simple words that set her world ablaze. "Self pity is beneath you. Grow up and stop feeling sorry for yourself."

Fate hadn't realized it but from the time her mother died to the time Hayate and the enforcers found her she had aged two years. She had spent two years on the streets wallowing in grief. For the life of her she couldn't remember what she did during that time, and Arf spoke very little of those years only commenting that Fate was much happier now.

A nostalgic smile spread over her face as she remembered the years of intensive training she received after that. Vita and Signum made her sparring life hell. Every day she had to force her abused body to get up and endure whatever torture the two adrenaline junkies could think up. Every day she pushed herself to surpass their expectations. Along the way they became close friends. One day she even beat them.

Life was never dull with her friends.

Now at age 17, she led the Riot force six.

"**I've got a feeling woo hooooooooooooo that tonight's gonna be a good night, that tonight's gonna be a good good night-"**

Fate sighed at hearing her ringtone, and grabbed her phone from the night stand.

"Testarossa here."

"Fate." Hayate's voice reverberated throughout the room. "We need you to get down to the Tokigawa museum pronto."

Fate had already started to move when she saw the caller I.D. but paused at hearing the tinge of anxiety in her friend's tone. "What happened?"

There was a pause.

Then.

"It's the White Devil. She struck again, but it was different this time."

Fate had begun to put on her leather jacket. Quickly she hefted her badge in one hand while trying to balance the phone on her shoulder, but at Hayate's words she fumbled. Hesitantly she asked, "How was it different this time?"

"There were twelve deaths. She didn't just take something this time, she killed everyone inside."

Fate dropped the phone.

A tremor ran through her.

Lies.

She knew the thief, her habits, her signature. She's never killed someone before, but a sliver of doubt raced through her. There's always a first, but what could cause such a drastic change in her M.O.? This made no sense. Carefully she picked up the phone from the floor again, as she began to make her way out of the condo.

"Fate you still there?"

"Yeah I'm here. I'll be there in ten minutes."

She hung up the phone with a click.

Something wasn't right.

Her suspicious nature proved to be correct because after ten minutes of driving on her motorcycle, going at a speed that would get even a cop arrested, Fate arrived at the Tokigawa museum and almost gagged at the amount of magical power and blood that permeated through the air. Yellow police tape barred off the museum from the desperate camera crews and from the half formed crowd that wanted to see the bloody tragedy for themselves.

She had been there less than a minute when a familiar figure waved her over to the doors. Fate wasted no time vaulting over the police tape and making her way over to Hayate's pale figure.

Her friend gave her a grim nod.

"You need to see this."

She was unceremoniously led inside. The place itself was in shambles. Rubble decorated the floor. Various exhibits that might have once been impressive were now broken and lying in piles of dust. Charred remains covered the entirety of the entrance. Apparently a battle of epic proportions had occurred here. Precariously Fate followed Hayate's slim form past the rubble, and they came to the end of the hall.

They made a right, and it took everything that Fate had not to vomit.

Bodies were strewn everywhere. Deprecated body parts maligned with burn wounds were imprinted in the floor. The floor itself was permanently stained red with blood. Over ten guards lay dead here looking like they had spontaneously combusted.

Her voice came out in a whisper;

"She did this?"

Hayate nodded slowly, "We gathered some D.N.A samples from the bodies, but honestly no one else was here, it's pretty straight forward evidence, and after sending the samples to the lab we'll only have confirmation that she's behind this. We don't have anyone else in our data bases that is capable of initiating a lethal attack on this kind of scale."

Fate's hands clenched into shaking fists.

"Don't let it get to you Testarossa. We'd like to think the people working for the bad guys aren't always evil but…"

Signum's smooth voice trailed off letting the sentence hang. And for the first time Fate noticed the rest of the Riot six were already there.

Vita had a dark scowl on her face.

"Your mission just got a lot more dangerous. The only other one of us that looks young enough to pass for a high school student is me. I'm going with you. If the White Devil is capable of this kind of slaughter we're not sending you in alone."

Fate's absent mindedly nodded her assent.

Playful blue eyes seared themselves into the surface of her mind.

Why would the White Devil do something like this?

* * *

><p><em>The next day<em>

Subaru Nakijama watched her friend like a hawk. Nanoha had not spoken the entire ride home last night. The brunette did not even protest when Subaru laid her up in bed, the only thing she did do was silently hand over a blood encrusted jewel to her, and quietly demand Subaru put it with the others. The cyborg had never questioned Nanoha before, but seeing her standing haloed in a hall covered with blood had stirred something in her. Nanoha was hurting, whatever happened last night had hurt her immensely and Subaru did not know how to help because she did not know what happened.

She steepled her fingers in a thoughtful pose as she eyed her exhausted friend.

Honestly it didn't even matter.

She trusted Nanoha, and instinctively believed she would do the right thing no matter what.

However today her brunette friend was sluggish.

She slept in all her classes, and that was worrisome.

Nanoha was typically an A level student, or at least pretended to be.

She had asked the brunette if she really wanted to go to school today, and Nanoha serenely replied: of course. How much worse could it get?

The droning of their music theory teacher abruptly stopped and everyone's gaze was drawn to the front of the room. Another adult had stepped in-one that was secretly whispered about to be the recruitment dog for the school. He went out-bought candy, lured the less suspecting genuis' into a van and dumped their sorry butts at Okazu high, or at least that was the rumor the kids spread about him. Behind him a beautiful blond girl with crimson eyes stood timidly.

As the blonde entered the room, Nanoha's head snapped up immediately as if sensing her arrival.

Subaru blinked eyeing the brunette's reaction with interest.

Did they know each other?

Faintly she could have sworn she heard Nanoha muttering expletives, and groaning in exasperation to herself.

She also could have sworn she heard the brunette whisper the word Fate with more than a little longing.

Perhaps her systems were defective.

However when Fate's crimson eyes wandered around the room then lingered on Nanoha longer than was truly necessary-it was clear something was going on.

"Class this is our new student. Her name is Fate T. Harlaowan."

That would not be any relation to Chrono Harlaowan would it?

Subaru's lip curled in disgust.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

There's two of them now.

* * *

><p><strong> R and R<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay! I like the responses to the last two chappies. This chappie ended up ridiculously long though-_-'**

**Anon-thanks I've been working hard to improve my style.**

**Ragnarok- Okay so I fixed the rankings, Fate is now an AA class mage, but now I'm curious: what exactly are the rankings? You said planet destroyer was SS and Crauxan said that SS was basically a walking nuclear but not a planet destroyer, and now I'm a bit confused. I haven't seen MGLN in over a year so my memory's a bit fuzzy. **

**Crauxan-I'm trying to thread realism into this fic as much as possible. Glad to know it's semi-workingXD and you're right. Yunno won't be portrayed as as an asshole in this fic. That would probably ruin the plot I have going:3**

**Sherin-What did Chrono do to annoy Subaru? Heh he you shall see.**

**Woah sorry this one was delayed, but I've had work, homework, and THE worst toothache. It wasn't an oh my gosh i have a cavity toothache, it was an oh my gosh half my damn tooth is gone, and I wanna shoot myself cuz it hurts so bad toothache. It was HORRIBLE I woke up every two hours and couldn't sleep. I could not focus on anything The dentist pulled the tooth and I now have stitches all over my gum. Ugh...**

* * *

><p>"Class this is our new student. Her name is Fate T. Harlaowan."<p>

Her burgundy eyes swept across the room. Obviously the White Devil would not just announce herself-that would be too easy. She mentally catalogued things she needed to watch out for as her eyes perused over the music theory students-the white clothed thief wore a mask, so Fate was not entirely sure of her facial features. Her high school adversary only stole under the cover of darkness so Fate was not sure of how light or dark her hair was. The only thing the enforcer was one hundred percent certain of was the frosty blue color of the thief's eyes.

Familiar azure orbs locked with hers, and Fate stiffened.

In the middle of the room sat a girl, slender, with two distinct pig tails.

Vaguely, she resembled the one she was looking for but there were too many differences between the brunette she was staring at and the criminal she was trying to capture. This particular student was pale and frail looking, and although the girl was staring at her there was no flash of recognition in her gaze.

Fate sighed and let a wry smile quirk her lips.

The reaction was immediate.

Several males swooned, and many of the girls cooed lovingly. Fate blinked-totally oblivious to the all the attention she was getting.

The music theory teacher scowled-apparently she had finished reading Fate's transcripts. "It's the middle of the semester it's rather unethical to take a new student into the class now-especially one that has never taken any formal music classes before."

"If you don't like it-take it up with the principal."

The School recruiter huffed, and made his way out of the classroom. The music theory teacher rolled her eyes and stalked out of the classroom as well. She paused at the door, turning back to glare at her students. "I expect you to act appropriately while I'm gone. " With that curt command she promptly left the room.

Almost immediately Fate was swamped by nosy high schoolers.

"Hey are you single?"

"How old are you?"

"Where did you transfer in from?"

"Can I have your number?"

"Will you marry me?"

She twitched-hating Vita a little more with each question because currently her vertically challenged friend was in P.E. and was not dealing with nosy students, while Fate was stuck in a room with them. She would give her right foot to be in an athletic class right now.

"HEY!"

A hushed silence fell over the room as a murderous looking blonde glared at all the other students. "Let Fate breathe. I'm sure she can answer all your questions but if you keep harassing her like crazed stalkers…" An evil grin stretched across her face, and she hummed just a little bit too happily. "I won't be responsible for my actions."

Fate blinked as a soft spoken purple haired girl face palmed, and gently cuffed the blonde behind the head. The aggressive girl immediately began to pout and the entire room erupted into laughter. The pout turned into a fierce scowl-directed solely at the girl with purple hair. "Suzuka, why are you so violent?"

Suzuka blinked, and one slender eyebrow rose in disbelief. "Arisa…you just threatened the whole class and I'm the violent one?"

"Yep."

Solemenly Arisa nodded.

"Heh. Those two…when they go out it-the whole world melts away. Arisa-chan seems to have forgotten you already."

Fate blinked at the new voice, and turned to face a chuckling girl with short blue hair. The girl in question was just as tall as she was with an impish smile on her face, and even through her uniform toned muscles were visible. The stranger grinned companionably and held out a hand for Fate to shake. "My name is Subaru Nakajima pleasure to meet you Fate. The blonde that saved you from getting stampeded is Arisa Banning. The quiet girl that's currently arguing with Arisa is Suzuka-chan."

Fate shook her hand, instinctively knowing she was going to forget someone's name.

Subaru released her hand, and brushed past the surprised lightning mage. The blunette slung her arm around another student, startling her to look up. Fate met the same azure eyes from before.

"And this is Nanoha Takamachi."

Takamachi…

So that's her name.

The brunette's eyes locked with hers, and a small tired grin crossed the other girl's face. "Fate…Harlaowan was it? It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Nanoha-it might seem kind of weird to ask you this but are you okay?" Fate murmured eyeing the girl's sickly pallor, with a tinge of worry. She wasn't sure why she noticed the girl's sordid condition nor was she sure why it worried her so much considering that they had just met less than five minutes ago. Despite all of that Fate found herself anxious to hear a positive response.

Several emotions flitted across the brunette's face, but Nanoha simply nodded her head. "I'm fine, just a little bit tired that's all."

Fate wasn't thrilled with the answer, but that was fine.

She had to focus.

The lightning mage was not there to make friends.

"ENOUGH!"

A stunned silence fell over the room. The music theory teacher was back. Quickly, as if by some unspoken command the students shuffled to their seats, looking properly chastised. Fate also dropped into her seat next to Nanoha, an attentive expression on her face. The stern professor adjusted her glasses leveling the class with a piercing stare. "When I leave the room I expect you to act accordingly-with decency and civility. I won't tolerate any shenanigans in my class." The woman sighed as if she had repeated this lecture countless times and adjusted her glasses once again. "Now where did we leave off?"

Fate wanted to sweatdrop when a long and extremely boring lecture on the semantics of Beethoven and Bach began shortly after the teacher figured it out. The lightning mage was not particularly worried about passing the class so while the teacher droned on Fate sent a small magical pulse throughout the room, extending her senses to see if anyone reacted to the energy in the room.

Nothing.

Not a single reaction.

She sighed disparagingly. Either the White Devil was not in this class, or the thief was an extremely good actor. Under the desk she thumbed the school pin her adversary had left behind. She was somewhere in the school though. Somwhere on campus, the White devil was making herself inconspicuous and Fate was going to find her.

[Testarossa]

Her brow furrowed as Vita's voice echoed through her head. She lent a tiny bit of magic into their telepathic link-securing it, just in case the White Devil was nearby. Any mage within 100 feet of her would have been able to hear what they were discussing.

[Is something wrong Vita?]

[Nothing's wrong, but so far I haven't found anything suspicious. All of these kids seem like normal angsty high school students. I have not seen anyone that even remotely resembles her.] Fate could just imagine Vita's frustrated expression as the temperamental girl glared suspiciously at every blue eyed high school student that happened to walk by her P.E class. Fate leaned back in her seat so she at least looked like she was paying attention. When she did reply her voice sounded more amused than anything else.

[Okazu High has a surplus of over 3200 students. The odds of us finding the White Devil on the first day are a million to one. We knew this mission might take longer than a couple of days.]

[…So you didn't find anything either?]

Fate glanced thoughtfully at the students around the room. [ Well I found two students with blue eyes similar to the White Devils. Their names are: Nanoha Takamachi, and Subaru Nakajima. Neither one of them fit the profile though. Subaru is outgoing, but she seems too light hearted and everything appears to be a joke with her." Fate shuddered remembering the mangled bodies, and the river of blood that still covered the museum floor. Someone like Subaru was not capable of a massacre like that. "And the other one: Nanoha- she's seems too…frail to be the White Devil. Her personality does not match up with hers either."

[Lovely. Well, we have to keep looking. Keep an eye on those two though. It's only our first day-that's hardly enough time to get to know someone. I'll keep looking on my end.]

[Right. Be careful Vita.]

A disbelieving snort was her only answer. Fate hid a grin-her short companion was known throughout the police force as an impulsive and reckless fighter. Vita knew about her less than stellar reputation, and was somewhat prideful of her invulnerable status. Fate could practically picture the self confident grin her friend must be wearing right now. The rest of the riot force six was no different. Hayate's guardians-the Belkan Knights all reveled in danger and glorified battles. Caution came second.

"Fate."

She blinked at the sound of her name, and turned to face the speaker. Nanoha's warm blue eyes stared intently back at her.

"Class ended awhile ago Fate-chan. Did you plan on sitting here the rest of the day?"

Fate's cheeks burned with embarrassment, and for the first time she noticed she and Nanoha were the only ones left in the classroom. Even the teacher was gone. Quickly she got up from her seat, almost knocking her chair over in the process. Talking to Vita took longer than she thought. How long had she been sitting there? How long had Nanoha been trying to talk with her? An hour into this mission and she was already failing miserably.

"Sorry…I was lost in my thoughts."

The brunette appeared to accept her excuse, because she didn't question her further. Fate gave an audible sigh of relief.

A small giggle brought her attention back on the girl in front of her. She tilted her side to the side in confusion.

"What?"

At her befuddled expression the brunette began to laugh harder.

"Nothing…You just suck at lying, Fate-chan."

Fate frowned, unsettled at how quickly Nanoha had seen through her deception. To her surprise though the brunette did not inquire anything else about the subject, opting instead to gently take her hand. Fate immediately stiffened. The contact was electric. The simple touch stimulated her in a way that was not entirely unpleasant. Was she so starved for human contact that Nanoha affected her like this?

She felt herself being gently yanked forward.

"C'mon Fate, you can't be late for your classes on your first day."

The blonde offered no resistance as she was dragged to her next class.

Nanoha may not be the White Devil but she had the same mesmerizing the effect on the lightning mage that the thief had. Fate swallowed hard, her thoughts racing. This had the potential to be very bad. She could barely handle her obsession with her flirtatious adversary. She did not need to develop some kind of morbid fascination for Nanoha too.

"See you at lunch Fate-chan!"

The blonde blinked, as Nanoha walked away.

Lunch was the next time she would see the brunette. Disheartened she walked into her chemistry class, claiming a window seat. Her thoughts wandered, and once again she sent a tiny magical pulse out into the room. Once again she received nothing back and Fate laid her head on her desk with a sigh. She lost interest in the class almost immediately. If anyone asked her what her chem teacher had been teaching, she would be unable to respond because frankly: she had no idea.

In no time at all the lunch bell rang, and Fate was one of the first ones out of the classroom. She was eager to see if anything noteworthy was in the cafeteria. Upon entering the lunch room she was almost immediately sidetracked. The sudden erratic beating of her heart betrayed her as Nanoha's distinct figure became visible among the amassing high school students and she temporarily forgot her mission.

….beautiful…

The blonde huffed blowing a few silky golden hair strands out of her face as her cheeks turned a brilliant shade of red.

_Bad_ Fate.

She moved to leave the cafeteria and explore the rest of the school for evidence that the White Devil did in fact exist in these halls somewhere.

"Fate-chan!"

She froze, mentally berating herself for not moving faster. Slowly she turned on her heel, and her eyes locked on the Arisa/Suzuka duo. The two girls waved her frantically over to their table across the room. Fate hesitated, her burgundy eyes analyzing situation. Suzuka, Arisa, and Nanoha all sat around that table conversing-it looked appealing, but out of the three girls-Nanoha was the only one that was suspect. Fate had over 3200 other students to assess. The choice was obvious. She had a job to do.

And yet despite her rational side telling her to do otherwise she found herself walking over to their table.

"Fate-san, we were hoping you would sit with us, and saved you a seat." Suzuka said quietly, a small smile on her face.

"I don't want to intrude."Fate murmured shifting nervously from foot to foot.

"Heh, Nanoha you were right-she's adorable."

Fate's head snapped up at Arisa's words glancing from Nanoha's not so innocent grin to Arisa's jack o lantern smile. Her eye twitched.

Nanoha continued to grin unrepentantly. "Of course.

Involuntarily heat rose to her cheeks. Even when she wasn't at the police station she was getting mercilessly teased for her mannerisms. The light hearted jokes left a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. She could not afford to be too comfortable though. Fate sighed, running a hand loosely through her hair. Her thoughts raced to find a way to politely decline the invitation to sit down with the group.

"Sorry but I have to pick up some books for my other classes. Starting school late left me without a lot of materials." She addressed Suzuka, her smile apologetic.

It was not a complete lie.

Suzuka grimaced in understanding, and Arisa nodded. Nanoha's expression was thoughtful as she gazed at the lightning mage. Once again Fate was perplexed by the brunette in front of her. "Yes…Nanoha?"

Nanoha blinked once, a small frown on her face.

"Nothing. Good luck getting your materials Fate-chan."

The blonde grinned in acknowledgement and quickly began to stride away before she forgot her mission again. She was completely unaware of the intense pair of blue eyes that followed her retreating figure as she left the room.

* * *

><p>The three friends sat quietly at the table after the blonde enforcer left the room.<p>

When Fate had first arrived-Nanoha had been surprised. Shocked even. The alluring blonde had glided into her music theory class and enraptured the attention of everyone in the room. Nanoha had no idea how to react to her presence. On the one hand her reason for being there was obvious: Nanoha had lost her school pin earlier that week, and then her favorite blonde had found it. Fate was there to capture her. The logical thing would be to make herself scarce and distance herself from the potentially dangerous situation.

On the other hand-she had never seen the blonde enforcer so deliciously unguarded.

The barrier of distrust and animosity between Fate and her White Devil persona was non-existent now. Despite the apparent danger-having a chance to understand the enigmatic blonde on more than just a platonic level was too good to pass up. She wanted to know more about her crimson eyed enemy. She wanted to know her subtle nuances, her likes, her dislikes, everything quirky thing about her that Nanoha found captivating.

She wanted to be her friend.

Her thoughts wandered to earlier in the morning when the lightning mage had sent the magical pulse throughout the room in hopes someone would react.

The idea was cute, but Nanoha had recognized the bait and mentally prodded Subaru to act as if they did not feel anything. The blunette did not question her-simply resuming her studies as if she didn't feel strange magic pressing down on her. Wanting to get close to Fate was one thing-revealing her identity was another. If the lightning mage wanted to capture her she was going to have to do better.

"Nanoha."

Arisa's voice startled her out of her Fate induced reverie. She glanced at her blonde friend bewildered.

"What's up Arisa?"

"You're spacing out again."

Nanoha winced at the disapproval in her tone. She drooped a bit in her seat, and sent her friend a petulant look. "Sorry…I was just thinking."

She mentally slapped herself for using the same lame excuse Fate had used less than an hour ago. It sounded stupid when the blonde said it, and sounded marginally worse when she repeated the same mistake. Arisa looked about as convinced as Nanoha had at the time too. Suzuka cleared her throat before an argument erupted and both of them looked over at their reserved friend.

"We should probably get to class the bell's about to ring."

Arisa glowered at the table, and Nanoha mentally thanked whatever deity was looking out for her.

Saved by the bell.

They all got up-leaving their cafeteria seats. As they left the room, a quick group hug was initiated before the three friends had to part ways to their separate classes. Nanoha had P.E. next, Suzuka had to travel to the engineering building across campus, and Arisa was in an advanced mathematics course to support her business degree.

Nanoha ambled slowly down the steps, in no apparent rush to get to the gym. Even though she was the White Devil-sports were not her thing.

[Nanoha]

Subaru's voice echoed in her head, making her steps falter.

[What is it?]

[That crazy blonde is in our P.E. class and she's sending out a magical pulse. Do I ignore it again?]

Nanoha quickened her pace to the P.E. building. Subaru was loyal to a fault but she tended to be bad in unfamiliar situations. Dealing with an undercover policeman is about as unfamiliar as it gets. [Ignore her. Don't respond.]

She heard an exasperated sigh from the cyborg. [Nanoha who IS she]

Nanoha's steps quickened to a run as the gym came within sight. She dashed to the door flinging it open. [You've seen her on one of our missions before. She's the ace enforcer of the Riot force six unit. Her team works for the mage bureau and is currently working side by side with the Tokyo police force to arrest me. Fate's undercover and she's here to capture me.]

A stony silence followed her answer.

Nanoha made it to the locker rooms adjacent to the gym only slightly out of breath. Precariously, she managed to dodge the other half naked females and sidled over to her locker which was coincidentally next to Subaru's. The disbelieving look the blunette sent her made Nanoha chuckle.

"Are you freaking_ insane_? She's dangerous…"

Nanoha, who had begun to strip to change into her P.E clothes stopped mid motion sending the cyborg next to her an amused look. "Fate-chan is the _least _of my worries right now." Nanoha slipped a white-tshirt over her head, throwing her school blouse carelessly on the floor in the changing process. Subaru still appeared to be disgruntled. Nanoha in an effort to lighten the mood slipped an arm around the blunette's shoulders plastering a goofy on her face.

"It'll be okay." She grinned evilly, reveling in the strange looks she was receiving for her random act of affection. "Yunno why?" She cleared her throat dramtically, ignoring the utterly horrified expression her blunette friend was sending her. "Don't worryyyyyy about a thang cuz every little thing ah ah ah is gonna be alright! So don't worry-"

She was abruptly cut off as Subaru squirmed out of her grip, and grasped Nanoha around the neck placing her in a headlock. The brunette yelped, trying to wrench free and failing. "Nanoha as your friend that cares for you I'm going to tell you a secret...As a Japanese high school student with the voice of dying disease infested animal, you are not meant to sing. So please leave that poor Jamaican pacifists song alone."

Nanoha pouted.

That was rude.

Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and her eyes locked with a familiar burgundy gaze. Fate was looking atthe both of them as if she was terribly amused. Nanoha rolled her eyes and struggled harder to break Subaru's bruising grip. After two minutes of futile thrashing her pout deepened and she gazed at the lightning mage with a pleading expression.

"Fate-chan help me."

The blonde's expression remained impassive but her eyes glowed with gentle humor.

"I would but Subaru seems to be doing us a community service. I would hate for you to make anyone's ears bleed."

She gaped at the lightning mage's retreating back. Nanoha could not decide what affected her more-Fate's bell like laughter as she walked away, or the unexpected teasing coming from the normally quiet blonde. Subaru released her with a gentle push-snickering at her stunned expression.

[For a law enforcer, I did not see much saving going on. Fate seemed content to watch you suffer.]

Nanoha glowered at the laughing blunette, and lightly cuffed her behind the head. [Shut up Subaru.]

A devil-ish smirk crossed Nanoha's face as she remembered the blonde's mischevious grin.

If Fate wanted to play-they would play.

* * *

><p>Fate had rapidly made her way out of the gym with the rest of the P.E. class-trailing not too far behind the teacher. She had traversed around the entire campus earlier without finding a trace of anything suspicious. From the bookstore manager she had learned that kids lost their school pins on a weekly basis-a new one cost two dollars. Anywhere from thirty to fifty kids bought a new one each week, and the manager would not reveal the names of who the pins were sold too.<p>

That had taken a whole lunch hour, and afterwards Fate had barely made it to her P.E. class on time. Upon arriving to the locker room she had sent out a magical pulse as she had done in every one of her classes today and as per usual there was no response. After coming to the conclusion that nothing suspicious was going on she just happened to be walking by when she saw Subaru putting Nanoha in a headlock.

The sight amused her to no end, especially because when she rounded the corner she was privy to Nanoha's tone deaf bellowing. Fate had chosen not to rescue her. The expression of mock betrayal on the brunette's face that followed her abandonment had convinced Fate to make a quick exit. She had a feeling Nanoha might hold a grudge.

She had no idea how right she was.

"Alright class today, we run two miles- for all you newcomers that means eight laps around the track." Their teacher's gruff statement caused the P.E. students to wince groans filled the room at the prospect of running so far. Fate managed not to smirk.

She loved running.

Her muscles twitched in anticipation, and her eyes darkened with excitement. Challenges that tested her speed, her litheness, her endurance all made her feel alive. She was by no means an adrenaline junkie, but the sensation that came with running was similar to the sensation she got when she was flying. She felt weightless. Untouchable.

At the teacher's signal-the P.E. class reluctantly started their laps around the track.

Without really meaning to Fate surged forward, pulling ahead of the rest of them. She lengthened her stride, turning her slight run into a sprint. She intended to push herself the full two miles. After the first two laps, her breath was coming in shallow pants, and beads of sweat were starting to form on her forehead.

She did not slow down though.

Between the rhythmic sound of her feet crunching against the paved track and her shallow panting, another sound was barely audible. She wasn't given time to ponder what it was because suddenly the source of the noise was upon her. Fate blinked as Nanoha pulled up beside her-her face flushed from the exertion. The brunette grinned impishly and with a sudden burst of speed rushed past the startled blonde.

Fate blinked disbelievingly.

Did Nanoha just outrun her?

Fate growled to herself, and willed her body to run faster.

Within a few seconds she had caught up to the brunette, and a dangerous game of cat and mouse began. They kept running at the same break neck pace, but at each curve of the track Nanoha would dash past the lightning mage, and at each straight portion of the track Fate would surge past the panting brunette. By the sixth lap, Fate's legs started to burn-by lap seven breathing hurt, by lap eight Fate felt like she was going to die.

Her chest heaved as she struggled to breathe.

They rounded the corner of the final stretch, and Fate pushed her exhausted muscles to sprint to the endline, gracefully pushing past the brunette. After running past the finish, Fate swayed dropping to her knees. Dots appeared in her vision, and her breath came out in deep ragged pants.

Her P.E. clothes were soaked with sweat, and Fate shivered uncomfortably.

A small grin graced her face.

She won.

A hand appeared in front of her to help her to her feet, and she glanced up to meet Nanoha's azure gaze.

"Nice race Fate-chan."

The blonde blushed her cheeks flaming a vibrant red. Instinctively she knew that Nanoha had just played her. That did not stop her from grinning, and taking the offered hand anyways. The blonde stumbled to her feet, still a bit wobbly. Her limbs were understandably numb.

**"Na na na na na na na na Can't touch this! Na na na na na na na Can't touch this. Music hits me so hard makes me say oh my Lawd-"**

Everyone blinked as Nanoha flipped open her cellphone, her pig tails bobbing at the motion. After humming, and saying a few affirmative words into the phone, Nanoha flipped it shut again. She sent Fate a solem look. "I have to go. My friend needs some help with work." The dazed blonde nodded uncertainly, watching as her new friend turned away from the track walking determinedly away from school.

For some reason she felt disappointed.

The rest of the class period passed quickly. With Nanoha gone the class seemed oddly empty. Less than ten minutes after the brunette left- the P.E. class was sent back to the locker rooms to shower, and Fate all but melted beneath the hot water.

Sooner than she thought possible the lightning mage's' first official day of school ended-which led her to where she is now-walking home alone. Once again she had become lost in her thoughts. Posing as Fate Haralowan was exhausting. Not only was she ordered to play the part during the day, but Hayate had forced her to move into the Haralowan's house for the remainder of the mission to make things look more believable. As a former alumni of Okazu-everyone knew where Chrono lived, and Fate's forged identity dictated she should probably live with him as well.

She wasn't thrilled about it, but the move was hardly going to traumatize her. The only two Haralowan's were Lindy and her son Chrono. Lindy was never home because she was some prestigious government official that was always off on business trips.

Chrono Haralowan was rarely ever home. Lindy's son used to be the head mage in Tokyo-he used to have Hayate's job, but he decided to retire from that position in the last year or so, choosing instead to work in a less power orientated position. Supposedly he taught at an elementary school now. Fate hefted her bag over her shoulder as the Harlaowan's abnormally large condo came into view. Tiredly she made her way up the steps to the ivory colored door and began digging through her school bag for her keys.

Suddenly the door swung open, and Chrono stuck his oval shaped head out.

His eyes squinted at seeing her there- reeking of sweat, her clothes virtually glued to her body, while one hand was still stuck in her school bag.

"Fate?"

"No it's Santa claus." She muttered dryly. "Can you let me in?"

He appeared to be actually thinking about it.

Fate sighed softly, and pressed her shoulder against the door-forcing it open. Chrono jumped back, before his face got rearranged via the heavy wooden door. When he was safely out of the way his ocean blue eyes glowered at her.

"Was that really necessary?"

She scoffed.

The rumors that said Chrono was inhuman and only had two visible expressions-brooding, and stern were true. Occasionally he would get the urge to be playful, but since he went out of his way to scare people, his attempts at humor were poorly executed. The boy chose to be emotionally constipated most of the time. Because of his socially retarded behavior his sense of humor was severely lacking. His refusal to let her in the house was his idea of 'fun.' Since arriving to the Haralowan house she found herself treating him like an annoying kid brother.

So she did the typical thing one sibling would do to another and stuck her tongue out at him.

Chrono rolled his eyes. "That's mature."

The lightning mage chuckled softly, finding the situation utterly ridiculous.

Chrono-seeing her smile also managed a small grin.

"So how's your mission going?"

Fate let out a groan, collapsing onto the couch like a sack of very graceful very depressed potatoes. Arf-who had apparently just noticed her master's presence bounced into the room in puppy form, and slid in the narrow space between Fate and the cushions. Idly she began to stroke her familiar's silky orange fur, while simultaneously thinking of a way to summarize her unproductive day.

"Nothing much happened. I was not able to sense anyone with magical potential. I've met a couple of people that are possible suspects, but none of them fit the profile. Vita had even less luck than I did."

Chrono blinked.

"Well that's to be expected. Even when I ran the Bureau the White Devil was around-she's had years to perfect her disguise. Finding her won't be easy."

Fate's lips thinned into a grim line. "It's even harder now because we're not sure what to look for anymore. Every time I've seen her before she's always had the same salacious smirk, and indomitable attitude. She always arrived silently-found what she needed, and left without a scratch on her." Her hand's balled into fists in Arf's fur, and she had to work to keep her voice even, "Chrono she killed ten people and for the life of me I can't figure out why. What changed? Did she…Has she ever done this before?"

Unbidden-the question left her lips. Chrono had dealt with the White Devil and her associates long before Fate and her team even knew they existed. He had to know. Unconsciously she found herself leaning forward to hear the answer.

Chrono did not respond right away. He was measuring her words, analyzing them like he analyzed everything.

There was a pause

Then

"No, Fate-She never killed anyone when I was tracking her, but that doesn't mean she is not capable of doing so. When my team first when after her she could not have been older than age 12. Killing was not even a thought back then. It's different now. The White Devil is not a child anymore, anything could have happened to her in the last couple of years."

There was a very real chance the White Devil was not simply a thief but a murderer. Her chest ached at the thought. Thoroughly depressed now, Fate buried her head in Arf's fur.

**"I've gotta feeling woooo hooooooooo, that tonights gonna be a good night, that tonights gonna be a good good night."**

Numbly-she dug her phone out from her bag, flipping it open with an audible click.

"Testarossa here."

"Fate!" Hayate's panicked tone forced the blonde to sit up, an anxious expression on her face. "The White Devil's at it again-and it's near your location. Another jewel. I'm sending the Riot force there but it could take awhile-their devices are still not working properly. Here are the coordinates."

She was on her feet in an instant. "I'm on my way."

Chrono followed her rapid movements with an experienced eye. "Another robbery?"

Fate who had by this time, carelessly thrown her school bag to the floor, in a desparate attempt to locate her weapon cartridges sent her surrogate brother a stray glance. "Yep." She intoned, intentionally popping out the 'p' She rarely ever took them with her, but capturing the White Devil was no longer a game. She found the cartridges exhaling softly, and palmed both them and Bardiche in one hand.

The White Devil was killing people, and she would not permit anyone else to die.

"Bardiche-transport to the coordinates Hayate sent."

"Yes my master."

"Fate!" Chrono's voice caused her to pause. Her eyes locked with his solemn ones, and the blunette sent her a half-hearted salute. "Good luck."

Fate chuckled as she swept up into a cocoon of magic.

Chrono was such a softy.

* * *

><p>Fate re-appeared at the designated coordinates and immediately slipped into a crouch. "Bardiche-cloaking mode." Her device shined once, absorbing a good portion of her energy and slowly dipping into remission so no could sense her magic. She crept silently through what appeared to be a theatre of some sort. Hundreds of velvet chairs formed a half circle around a stage with a long crimson curtain lightly curved over the center.<p>

Her eyes darted back and forth, meeting nothing but shadows.

An acrid sent caused her to freeze.

No.

She was too late.

She began to tremble as she recognized the metallic scent of blood.

On the floor not twenty feet away from her lay two human corpses, burned beyond recognition. Blood pooled from the bodies dripping down the aisles and staining the plush carpet a dark red. The limbs of both bodies were twisted at an awkward angle, and there were empty sockets where human eyes were supposed to be. Fate could only stare at the disfigured beings in muted horror. She couldn't voice her abhorrence to the morbid scene in front of her. Her thoughts were coming out as broken words and half images.

Fate could hardly breathe.

The room was suffocating her.

The death like stillness in the theatre came to an abrupt end when- With no apparent warning, a figure all adorned in white was bodily thrown off the stage. Fate's pseudoparalysis melted away as quickly as it had come. The White Devil herself skidded through the aisles, her momentum brutally launching the chairs off their metal bolts and sending them flying in every direction. Fate gripped her weapon so tightly her knuckles turned white.

Dead.

Innoncent people were dead.

Her burgundy eyes smoldered.

Across the room the White Devil pulled herself free from the rubble, completely unaware that that Fate was glaring murderously at her. Somehow the thief always knew when Fate was present though so the lightning mage was not surprised when those intense slate blue eyes met hers. The White Devil did not look particularly shocked to see her. She did not look thrilled either. The thief's eyes flickered from Fate to something just beyond the crimson curtains of the stage.

The jewel shard was behind there no doubt.

The White Devil seemed to be mentally calculating if she could escape with the jewel before Fate confronted her.

The blonde was faster though. When the thief began to move, Fate put on a burst of speed strategically placing herself between the thief and her prize. The White Devil froze, studying the blonde enforcer's impassive expression. The thief licked her lips-a nervous gesture that was normally beneath her.

"Fate-chan. I don't have time for this, you have to move."

The lightning mage's response was cold, her eyes bright with unadulterated fury. "Or what? Will you kill me too?"

The White Devil instead of reacting in an explosive fashion, or withdrawing into herself, responded with a compassionate expression. Her ice blue eyes gentled, and Fate struggled not to get lost in the thief's hypnotic gaze. "Me killing people…that bothers you?" The tone was not accusing, not angry merely curious.

A feeling of sickness washed over her and Fate's grip loosened on Bardiche.

"Yes it bothers me! You're murdering innocent people-how can that not bother you?" Her voice steadily rose at each word. Rage coursed through her like a rampant wave. This woman was cruel-the White Devil truly embodied her name. She really was a Devil. What kind of monster kills someone else and feels absolutely nothing afterwards? It was incomprehensible that someone placed so little value on life that when they kill it rates as 'a bother.'

The White Devil flinched, but Fate had a feeling it was less from her words and more from the utterly disgusted expression she was sending the thief right now.

"Bardiche. Load cartridge"

Lightning crackled in response to her command.

Even now the thief did not draw her weapon.

"Fate the jewel behind you is unstable.I know this for a fact." The thief gestured to the pulverized section of the theater where velvet chairs used to be. Some kind of backlash from the jewel must have sent the thief careening into the chairs. "I don't have time to fight you over this."

She heard the words, but they meant nothing to her. She could not afford to back down-not now. The lightning mage did not want to show up to another crime scene and see dead corpses on the ground. Her grip tightened around Bardiche, and she summoned her lightning so it was ready to use dancing just below the surface of her awareness.

"Bardiche, Scythe form."

Her weapon glowed, and a long jagged scythe crackling with electricity burst from the tip of Bardiche. In the time it took to blink, Fate had launched herself at the thief swinging the scythe in a large arc. The White Devil didn't move, when Fate appeared within striking range the thief remained perfectly inert. When the tip of the scythe was going to slice her in half, the thief grasped the edge of her weapon in one hand.

Fate blinked in astonishment, her jaw going slack.

The White Devil had caught her attack.

The smell of burning flesh in the room was palpable, and the lightning mage could only watch as blood seeped from the quickly expanding wound on the thief's hand.

She paled.

"What are you-"

Bardiche was wrenched from her hands, and thrown to the floor. Calloused hands encircled her around the waist, drawing her close so she was pressed up against the thief . The White Devil encased her in a hug that was heartbreakingly tender. She felt the ghost of lips on her neck.

"I told you I didn't have time for this... Silly Fate-chan."

Two things happened then:

One-she felt two fingers pressing down on a pressure point between her neck and shoulder.

Two-her world faded into complete darkness.

* * *

><p>A hollow grin was permanently etched on Nanoha's face as she stumbled down the street . Another successful mission. Her burned hand was clenched so tightly around the jewel that each time she took a step the green shard would carve itself deeper into her wound. A trail of blood followed her down the road, but she did not care. This job was slowly costing her her sanity.<p>

Fate hated her now.

She laughed and even to her ears it sounded sharp and humorless.

Her foot slipped and she fell.

She did not even bother to get up.

The ground felt cool and inviting, and realistically she could lie there all night.

"Nanoha."

The sound of her name caused her to crack one eye open. The brunette felt slender hands gently feel around her body, poking and prodding her wounds with careful precision.

"Nanoha!" The panicked tone of voice could only belong to one person.

She was immensely proud of herself. She had done something right. In her dazed, and totally useless state she had managed to make it to her friend's house, and deliver the jewel shard. Collapsing was just an added a bonus so she would not have to crawl back to her dingy apartment and sleep alone in her small empty room. The mere thought of enduring the next twenty four hours in this delusional state while Fate's burgundy eyes haunted her was unbearable.

She held up the jewel seed, her dull gaze flickering to the emerald eyes of her friend.

An exhausted smile, that did not quite reach her eyes stretched across her face.

"Happy Birthday Yunno-kun."

As she began to lose consciousness, Yunno's exasperated words left a genuine smile on her face.

"Nanoha… my birthday is not for another two months and you dying on my doorstep is not really a present. "

* * *

><p>R and R<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow...okay so this one took longer than I expected because I could not make it flow and I could not decide what a good cut off point was. So I apologize for how...filler-ish this chapter is. I had to split it into two parts otherwise there would have been another 12 pages, and that would have been a 25 page long chapter. That's too damn long. Well-okay no it's not, but writing it and seeing the scroll bar grow progressively smaller with every paragraph makes me feel...not happy. This is where a beta would come in handy.^^ **

**Crauxan- Thanks for explaining the SS rank in more depth. The hamster analogy made a lot of sense, and let me grasp the concept better. Ah and at the end of your review I was a bit conflicted, cuz on the one hand I was laughing at your graphic descriptions. On the other hand I was trying to summon some hint of revulsion, but after watching the whole spartacus series this weekend I found myself smirking and in total agreement with you.**

** I was all "Wha? Beheading...YESSSSSSSSSS" **

**Heh he.**

**It is too wasteful not to have it in the Nanoha series somewhereXD**

* * *

><p>"Commissioner Gil Graham."<p>

Hayate tilted back in her chair to study the aging man before her. She rarely ever got visits from superior officers, and when she did it was always showcased by some ridiculous melodramatic entrance. Commissioner Graham towered above her decked out from head to toe in elaborate military garb. Ten minutes ago he had stalked into her police headquarters flanked by a squad of muscle bound ego centric gunmen. Graham's men had promptly stationed themselves outside her door while the commissioner himself stormed into her office like he owned it.

Hayate was not particularly happy about this visit-not that she was ever excited about any of his visits. His mere presence spelled nothing but disaster for her, her team, and especially for their mission. Commissioner Graham was only called to headquarters once in every hundred cases when some poor mage team irreparably damages a case beyond repair. He basked in the failures of others, and managed to elevate his own name while doing so.

Hayate donned a mask of polite interest as he all but sneered at her.

"Well met. Chief Enforcer Yagami." He drawled out her title.

"To what do I owe the...pleasure?" She found a word to describe his unpleasant arrival, and managed not to convey her annoyance.

"I'm sure you are aware that currently the relationship between the government and the Bureau is strained. The Mage Bureau is under duress to keep magic a secret, while the government is trying to use our powers to protect the people while refusing to acknowledge our true nature to them. Your unit is one of the few teams blessed with trained and operational mages that can control their powers enough to work with a human police force. You are the Mage Bureau's special unit."

The speech sounded rehearsed-like a true politician pure honey dripped from his mouth that did little to hide the malice beneath his words. Hayate resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I know what my position is Commissioner-that does not explain your presence here at the station though."

The smile that followed made her wince internally.

"Truthfully-I'm here because your team has been playing at this case for far too long and the results are pathetic. The White Devil still roams free, and nothing has been accomplished this last year. I've had my own informants watching you and your team, and most recently they have developed a keen interest in your blonde enforcer. "

Hayate stood up, her eyes darkening in warning. "What is it that you want Commissioner Graham?"

He laughed, a cold sound that had Hayate gripping the edge of her desk in a poorly concealed attempt to mask her anger.

"It's not what I want Miss Yagami-it's what needs to be done. Before I answer your question, I have one of my own-Since the Book of Darkness incident the devices of your guardians have been slightly…dysfunctional. As a result almost every encounter with our residential thief results in Testarossa facing the White Devil alone. She has never succeeded in capturing nor in apprehending the thief despite numerous attempts, and according to her own accounts of their meetings- the White Devil finds her amusing and is no way threatened by her."

Hayate's jaw clenched, but she managed to respond civilly.

"What is your point Commissioner?"

A condescending smirk graced his face. "My point Chief Enforcer Yagami." He ground out her name like it was a curse. "Is that your team is a joke. Because of their malfunctioning equipment most of your team is useless, and your ace enforcer lacks the necessary mindset to successfully finish this case. It is my right as Commissioner to psychologically evaluate active field officers beneath me and determine if they are competent enough to continue. I will be evaluating Fate to see if she should even be allowed in to the office anymore."

Her mind raced, and slowly she stood up, her bangs falling across her face to shadow her eyes. When she responded her voice was abnormally soft, but the underlying steel in her tone was unmistakable. "You think Fate incompetent?"

"I think she's a _child._"

Well beyond pleasantries at this point, Hayate's lips thinned into a grim line. " She's seventeen. I've seen you hire kids much younger than her into your service."

"I won't deny that. I have hired younger people into my ranks, but they earned their place, and none of my kids would have let twelve people die. Can you honestly tell me she did not let her emotions get in the way of this case?"

Hayate's pained grimace betrayed her. Fate's emotions always governed her actions-such passion was a part of the lightning mage's nature. That was not normally a weakness. In fact her relentless drive, and ingenious instincts were what made her such an impressive enforcer. Lately though Hayate had witnessed the blonde's troubled expression. Her emotions pertaining to the White Devil were complex, and her feelings were slowly consuming her. Anyone with eyes could see that.

Was it affecting her performance though?

Her prolonged silence was perceived as a reluctant admission because the Commissioner continued to speak.

"She will go through with the evaluation, and from this point forward my subordinates will no longer act passively in regards to this case."

Her eyes narrowed at him.

The double meaning to his words left a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"You're going to send your field agents undercover to the school?" Her stomach clenched in rage at his unrepentant expression and Hayate abruptly got to her feet, slamming her fists on the desk, and leveling the Commissioner with an icy glare. "You can't just send more people over there; this mission is delicate and you're putting Fate at risk!"

He actually had the gall to laugh.

"You're concern is touching, but you're little enforcer should be just fine. She is a AA class mage after all, but if that is not enough of a reassurance my people will be subtle. She will hardly even notice their presence. In fact she won't even know who they are."

All the color drained from her face, and she sank heavily into her chair feeling rather nauseous all of the sudden. He could not be serious. "You won't even tell us who you're sending? What if is a mistake is made? What if your agents are misinterpreted as the enemy, and someone gets hurt?"

He had begun to walk out of the door, his impatient aura suggesting he was done with the conversation. At her insistent questions he paused, and glanced back over his shoulder. An extremely vexed expression crossed his face.

"Such a mistake won't be made. Everyone under my command is a professional-I was led to believe that the same could be said about your enforcers. With such elite subordinates asinine mistakes like that won't be possible. The identities of my agents will remain a secret. It's nothing personal, but my decision is based on the fact that although your enforcers are trustworthy I doubt you would or could vouch for the entire Tokyo police force. There are too many leaks. I won't jeopardize my officers or this mission because of a couple of screwy cops."

Hayate glared frostily at his retreating back as he left the room, a permanent scowl etched on her face.

Each day that passed brought a new complication to the White Devil case-the involvement of her superiors was just the icing on the cake.

"Hayate."

Reinforce's smooth voice distracted her from her anger. She sent her favorite guardian a questioning look, after realizing she had been glaring daggers at the wall for an undetermined amount of time.

"Commissioner Graham just left in a rather…distasteful mood. I was wondering if you were all right?"

Hayate had to fight back the urge to glomp the reserved woman. Her expression was exceedingly cute. Very few ever saw Reinforce exhibit emotions. The few times the silver haired woman did relax her controlled expression, it tended to dissolve into one of worry for her mistress. Hayate had the sinking suspicion that although Reinforce was more than capable of expressing herself she kept a firm grip on her emotions because she felt it was her job as unison device to be distant.

"I'm fine. It's not me you should be worried about."

The silver haired woman pursed her lips-tilting her head to the side in what was almost puppyish confusion.

Hayate giggled at the adorable sight before she schooled her own expression. Her hands steepled into a thoughtful position as she rested her head on her interlaced fingers.

"Commissioner Graham is trying to suspend Fate from the White Devil case." She paused seeing Reinforce's gaze harden.

"On what basis?"

Her unison partner's question was asked in the flat despondent way that was typical of the silver haired woman, but the glimmer of frustration in Reinforce's gaze was surprising. Hayate lips quirked upward. Her partner was slowly coming to terms with the fact that-other people besides her mistress had value. It was encouraging because Reinforce deserved to be happy.

"Competency. He doesn't believe that Fate is emotionally stable enough to handle this case. He said her performance recently has been…lacking."

A comfortable silence lapsed over the room.

Reinforce's gaze was thoughtful as she dissected the brunette's words.

"He's not wrong…"

Hayate blinked disbelievingly.

"You're siding with _him_?"

At Hayate's accustatory tone, Reinforce shook her head. "No I'm not. I don't believe Fate should be removed from this case but he's right in saying her performance leaves something to be desired. She is deliberately holding back. Why? Last night we found her unconscious at the theatre, with two dead corpses less than twenty feet from her. When she woke up, and was asked what had occurred, her report said-The White Devil killed those other two men and then incapacitated her almost immediately. Fate is a AA class mage, even if the White Devil was an SS class mage she should not have been so easily disabled."

Hayate blinked, absorbing that information with a thoughtful hum.

What a mess.

Fate's behavior of late had been slightly…unpredictable

Was she really holding back though?

With a soft sigh Hayate left her seat, knowing it was time to address this issue with her guardians and speak with Fate directly. Reinforce silently slid out of the way allowing the brunette to brush past her. Hayate lengthened her stride, stalking into the conference room of the police station where the rest of her team was lazing about.

"Guys, I've just been updated about the White Devil Case." Her words brought an immediate change over the room. Her guardians sat erect in their seats, sending her questioning glances. They were poised for battle. Judging by their attentive expressions they were just as eager to end this case as she was.

"_And_?" Vita drawled, putting unnecessary stress on the word.

"Commissioner Graham is placing his own men on the White Devil case, and plans on sending them undercover to the school. I'm guessing someone at the station leaked information to him about the White Devil going to Okazu, and now he wants to rectify our mistakes…He's also scheming to remove Fate from this case entirely."

A dead silence overtook the room.

Her lips quirked upward as she studied their furious expressions.

She had a feeling that if Commissioner Graham appeared in the room right now, her guardians as one masterful unit would impale him with evil death glares. They had all shared a hand in training Fate. To say they were attached to the lightning mage would be a bit of an understatement.

She chuckled.

That's part of why she loved their makeshift family so much. Their protective nature was so incredibly endearing.

"Speaking of which-where is Fate?"

Signum snorted derisively.

"Don't tell me you already forgot?"

Hayate blinked at the teasing tone.

Forgot…?

An interesting image flashed across her mind of Fate in a plaid skirt, and sailor shirt.

Oh yeah.

A lecherous smirk spread across her face.

Fate was in high school again.

"She's where I should be-at school." Vita gave her mistress a confused glance, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Why did you call me back to the station?"

Hayate's lascivious grin melted away and was replaced by a solemn expression that was foreign to the chief enforcer's face. "I called you back because Shari, from our technological research team has discovered something new about your devices."

Zafira spoke for the first time since the meeting had been called. "Can she fix them?"

Hayate's serious expression turned grim.

"I don't know."

* * *

><p>Subaru sat in the dreaded music theory class- an obscenely happy smile gracing her features as she engaged in small talk with Fate. She was not comfortable with the blonde, but that was fine. She did not plan on making friends with her. Fate was too much of a threat. Light conversation served as a good distraction from her worries though and it was not hard to mask her inner turmoil behind an insufferable grin. Yunno had sent her a text earlier that morning explaining that Nanoha had overworked herself in the last heist and was currently bedridden. Subaru was understandably concerned and planned to visit her friend as soon as school ended. However, school had yet to start.<p>

"Well well look who decided to show up today."

The undercover enforcer she was talking to shrank back at the utter malice in that tone. Subaru winced recognizing the voice almost immediately. She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, and with a tight grin turned to face her incensed friend.

"Hi Tea."

Tea Lanster stood there before her a dangerous scowl etched upon her pretty face. In this particular situation Subaru was at a loss on what to do. What was she supposed to say? Sorry I ditched you but I had to go keep Nanoha from getting arrested? That idea had absolutely no appeal to her. Her thoughts raced frantically as she thought of something acceptable to say that would appease the girl in front of her.

"I'm shocked you're here. You're always ditching school and yesterday…"

Tea's voice trailed off, no doubt remembering the events from the day before. Subaru could not deny the noticeable tension that had developed between the two of them. For some time now a gap had progressively been building between them. It had not truly become apparent until the day previous. Now that the gap was visible and had been forcefully acknowledged-instead of bridging it, the distance between them had grown significantly larger.

Subaru turned to stare at her, trying to look innocent and failing miserably.

If possible-her friend's facial expression darkened even more making Subaru cringe.

"Oh c'mon, there's no need to glare at her like that."

A masculine voice effectively ended their staring contest.

Subaru blinked as boy she's never seen before hooked a possessive arm around Tea's shoulders. Her temperamental friend's angry scowl was suddenly complemented by a light blush. The cyborg frowned at her odd reaction. Tea never blushed. The blunette then began study the boy that had such an effect on her.

He was tall. He had well crafted facial features, and his skin was virtually flawless. Short auburn hair fell over his eyes giving him a rebellious look, that was even further accentuated by toned muscles, and a barely visibly tattoo just below his sleeve. Subaru instantly disliked him. She could not pinpoint the source of her negative feelings but somehow his presence bothered her.

A charming grin stretched across his face, and his hand that was not keeping Tea captive was held out for her to shake.

"Pleasure to meet you, my name is Vice."

Tea had not said anything since this boy's arrival, and was not protesting about being stuck in his embrace. Vice was clearly not just a friend. That much was apparent. There was no doubt in her mind that Tea had been avoiding her to spend time with him. A cold feeling washed over her at the thought. Subaru could not identify the dark emotion unbalancing her because she had seen Tea date before. It had never affected her like this. Maybe it was Tea's unusual reaction to his advances or perhaps it was because he was entitled to do things that Subaru had been unmercifully scolded for but she found herself doing what she always did in unpleasant sticky situations. She plastered a huge grin on her face and exuded as much happiness as she could muster.

The blunette then remembered to shake his hand, and she did so with vigor. "Name's Subaru, it's nice to meet you."

He smiled cheekily, and released her hand. "Likewise, Tea's talked a lot about you."

Subaru's grin cracked.

_I would love to say the same about you. _

She thought wryly, and then shook her head.

Bitterness was not her thing.

"You never answered my question."

Her ocean blue eyes immediately snapped to Tea who was looking at her expectantly. "What question?" She racked her brain trying to remember what Tea had said before introducing her '_not' _boyfriend.

"What's going on with you?"

Subaru licked her lips unsure of how to respond. Her eyes swept around the room searching for a distraction and finding one. There, at the front of the room, the music theory teacher had stalked into the classroom her face white with anger. Students who had previously been loud and raucous dissolved into quiet whispers. The professor cleared her throat loudly, and Subaru let out a sigh of relief as Tea and Vice were forced to go to sit down on the opposite side of the room.

"Class I've been informed to tell you we have yet new another student coming to our prestigious school."

Subaru blinked disbelievingly.

Fate Haraloawan had been a student at Okazu for less than three days, and now another exchange student was transferring? The sudden influx of new students was…odd. It was the middle of the semester. Then again Fate was an undercover cop who was only there to catch Nanoha. Her eyes lingered on the door-her interest piqued. Perhaps the new student was actually normal instead of some random elite level mage in disguise.

The door slid open revealing a stunning blunette with long silky hair. The resemblance between herself and the new student was uncanny. Subaru gulped. Her luck could not possibly be _that_ bad. Her eyes squinted as she peered at the unfamiliar student-realization beginning to dawn on her. Her heart began to beat erratically. Her hands balled into shaking fists. That face. She _knew_ that face.

"Welcome the new transfer student Ginga Nakajima."

Subaru jaw dropped in muted horror.

She could feel people staring at her confusedly. Since entering high school she had never mentioned a sister. Ever. Suddenly a girl that looks like an older version of herself shows up with the same last name. The resemblance was so distinct they had to be related; she could not even _pretend_ to disown her sister. However, she could not explain her presence either. Why was Ginga here?

The last time they had seen each other her sister had tried to _kill_ her. She would never forget that day. It stuck vigilantly in her thoughts, hovering at the recesses of her brain. Every sensation. Every detail was seared into memory. It** haunted **her. Unbidden- memories began to surge to the surface of her thoughts. She cradled her throbbing head unable to stop the slight tremor that coursed through her.

_A thirteen year old Subaru froze, cocking her head quizzically to the side at the unnatural silence that had overtaken her house. _

_What was going on? Where was everyone? _

_She casually strolled through the halls-silently peering around every corner for any signs of visible life. Nothing. It was like everyone had disappeared. Perturbed at the eerie silence she slowly began to make her way to the bedrooms. She had to climb up the stairs and was painfully aware of the ominous creak that followed every step._

"_Dadddddddd. Mom! Gingaaaaaa." Her voice echoed off the walls._

_Subaru's heart hammered in her chest at the vacant echo that responded to her. No one was upstairs. She withdrew from the steps, opting instead to look for people outside. If they were not in the house perhaps they did not hear her. Her feet carried her through the kitchen to the door that led outside to the porch. She hesitated._

_What if she really was alone?_

_Her bottom lip quivered._

_Unable to stand the suspense any longer she grasped the bronze door handle, flinging the door open, and defiantly making her way into the yard. The grotesque sight that greeted her made her legs go weak. She dropped to her knees, her expression dissolving into one of undisguised horror._

"_Ginga.."_

_There standing over the lifeless body of Genya Nakajima stood her sister. Subaru found herself unable to form words-unable to __**breathe**__. Her father was dead. Vaguely she felt her sibling's impassive gaze studying her, but Subaru could not bring herself to notice. How did this happen? __**Why**__ did this happen? A torrent of emotions threatened to devour her, and a feeling of helplessness accompanied them. What could her father have done that was deserving of death? Her teenage mind could not wrap around the abhorrent sight she was being forced to injest._

_She bit her lip so hard it bled._

"_Why?"_

_At her pleading question those cold eyes locked with hers, and Subaru shivered. Never had her sister's gaze looked so lifeless-so __**calculating.**_

_Instead of responding her sister stretched her arm out, as if reaching for Subaru._

_The younger blunette stiffened._

_Ginga's lips curved upward, and Subaru watched dumbfounded as her sister's arm began to change. Dark shards of metal stapled into place along her arm, and twirled rhythmically as if bolting themselves into place. A gauntlet- unlike any Subaru had ever seen encased her sister's arm, starting from her forearm and extending all the way to her to her clenched fist._

_Her sister pointed the weapon at Subaru's chest._

_She was going to die._

_Unshed tears clouded her vision_

_With the most serene smile Ginga proceeded to tear her world apart._

"_**Ne Subaru? Did you know we're not human?"**_

"Subaru what the hell?" She jolted out of her thoughts at Tea's heated whisper. Hesitantly she met the stormy pale blue eyes of her friend. The glare Tea sent her way was positively scathing. "You have a sister?"

Subaru smiled weakly.

"Surprise."

Judging by Tea's hurt expression; she was clearly not amused.

The teacher's wispy voice interrupted their conversation once again. "Miss Nakajima why don't you go sit in Nanoha's seat for now. She's absent today."

Her jaw clenched. Nanoha sat in front of her. Her seat was the only vacant seat in the classroom. Ginga's eyes locked with hers. Subaru could practically feel the gears turning in her sister's head. The older girl slowly followed the teacher's instructions, making her way down the aisle, and nimbly sliding into Nanoha's chair.

Subaru felt numb.

The music theory class was officially the last place she wanted to be at this point in time. Her thoughts were terribly disorganized and she could not focus on anything. Why was _she_ here? She glared mutinously at her sister's back. First Fate and now Ginga? Their timing was immaculate. Ginga Nakajima, in the eyes of modern society was a college freshmen but for some unexplained reason she was here in Subaru's class. What could she possibly be scheming? And more importantly was Nanoha the target?

The class period dragged on, and Subaru's thoughts grew bleaker with each passing second.

When the bell finally rang she all but bolted from her seat.

She was the first one out of the class room.

She was the first one down the hall.

She was the first one to her Human Anatomy class.

When she arrived at her seat Subaru was panting. She collapsed in her chair letting her head rest against the cool mahogany of the desk. Today was going to be a long day. She was ill equipped to face her sister again, and she definitely was not ready to explain to Tea why she never mentioned she had a sister. The hair on the nape of her neck prickled, and a comforting hand came to rest on the small of her back.

Subaru stiffened.

The blunette sat up mentally preparing herself to apologize to Tea.

Only it was not Tea.

"Ginga…"

A crooked grin stretched across her sister's face, but she did not respond verbally.

[Subaru we need to talk.]

A bark like laugh erupted from her lips startling the students around her.

[I agree.]

* * *

><p>Fate Haralowan, formally dubbed Fate Testarossa had an acute sense of whiplash. Too much had happened in the last twenty four hours. She was dizzy from trying to process it all. First the utter failure of last night's mission weighed heavily on her mind. Not only did the White devil escape with the Jewel shards, two more people lay dead. It was disconcerting. She had never been as hypersensitive to death as she had been this week. Then again she had never encountered death on this grand of a scale before. Even though logic and prudence dictated otherwise Fate was unable to stop the sudden onslaught of guilt that threatened to crush what little remaining confidence she had left. The blond had never felt so useless. The White Devil had calmly batted her aside like she was a particularly annoying insect.<p>

_"I told you I didn't have time for this... Silly Fate-chan."_

To add insult to injury-she had woken up the next morning in a doctor's office. Hayate's personal physician, Shamal, had stood over her with a disappointed scowl and lectured her for being reckless. Fate remembered staring stonily at the doctor, unable to describe just how little the rebuke meant to her. In the grand scheme of things Fate did not think her life mattered. She managed to ruin _everything._

Even now-twelve people lay dead because she could not stop one person.

It was pathetic.

A humorless smile twisted her lips.

AA class mage indeed.

Her morbid thoughts changed course mulling over the other distressing events of the day. After arriving at school she had noticed something different. The kids she been introduced to yesterday were acting…odd. Subaru's vibrant smile looked incredibly forced. Plus the other two girls-Suzuka and Arisa were uncharacteristically quiet. Fate found the silence to be disturbing but what truly alarmed her was when she noticed Nanoha's absence.

Where was the brunette?

Before she could ask Subaru the hyper girl was forcefully ripped from her side.

The blonde enforcer remembered cringing when a livid pair of eyes locked with hers, and a sharp faced girl with pig tails all but dragged Subaru away. The confrontation she had mentally prepared herself for though was cut short when the teacher announced the arrival of yet another new student. A girl that could be mistaken for Subaru's twin walked into the room effectively rendering the whole class speechless. Ginga Nakajima resembled Subaru in so many ways but where Subaru's hair was short Ginga's fell in soft wavy curls past her waist. Where Subaru exuded a confident happy go lucky persona-Ginga presumed a more dignified pose. Every action was graceful. Every move was calculated.

One miniscule thought continued to thrash around in her brain

_Who does she work for?_

The whole music theory class was spent trying to establish who the Ginga was connected to. Her timing was just too coincidental. The idea that she was a normal high school student was laughable. Honestly, who transfers schools in the middle of the semester? The only new student to enroll in Okazu in the past six months was Fate and now that the White Devil case was starting to get serious someone else transferred in? The class' sharp intake of breath after hearing Ginga's name also made her skeptical. They reacted as if Subaru having a sister was a surprise. The suspicious behavior did not cease there.

After class ended and everyone was in the process of leaving, Subaru all but bolted from her seat, tearing out of the class room like she had seen a ghost.

"Hey!"

Fate was roughly shaken from her thoughts.

Tea Lanster wore an angry expression that the blonde was rapidly becoming familiar with.

"Yes?"

"Did you know about this?"

Um…what?

She gave the younger girl a blank stare. "Know about what?"

"When Subaru talked to you did she mention her sister was coming to school?"

Fate's mouth formed a small 'o' of understanding before the blonde dissolved into chuckles. She purposefully ignored Tea's withering glare, and answered her question. "No, Subaru did not mention her sister at all. When I talked to her I was just asking where Nanoha is today."

"Ah…I see."

Tea trailed off lamely. The younger girl was no doubt embarrassed from overreacting. It was odd. Her interactions with Tea reminded her of when she first started bonding with the Riot Force six. Fate had improved her social skills immensely since then but making friends was still strange. Her instincts told her Tea was not bad, just temperamental.

She wanted to get to know her.

Just like she wanted to get to know Nanoha, Arisa, Suzuka, Subaru...and Ginga.

Because somehow they were all connected.

At the centerfold of this tightly knit group was the White Devil-she could feel it.

And yet...

She's been wrong before.

* * *

><p><strong>This is part 1 of chapter four.<strong>

**I know Nanoha was not in this chapter but she will definitely be in the next one, which should be coming soon. This chappie set up the atmosphere for the next one quite nicely...I think.**

**...review. Pleaseeeeee.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow...Um...I really don't even know what to say. It's been a very long time, and I know people have been reviewing about abandonment, and someone laid a flower at the tombstone of this story? xD But I'm not abandoning it-I just took a very long, very stupid break and I apologize for that. Life got in the way for my muse for this particular story, and then I started writing other stories, which didn't help, so now I'm narrowing my focus to 3 stories to finish, and this is going to be one of them. **

**I apologize for how short this chapter is as well.**

**I'm a bit out of practice with the MGLN World, and I might have to watch the series again before I do the next chapter.**

**This chapter felt alot like dipping my toes in a pool. Next chapter I'm diving in, and it will be much more substantial. Things will start happening xD **

**But you will have to be a bit patient. It won't take a year to update. 2-3 weeks. Tops.**

* * *

><p>Nanoha felt the last ounce of tedious delirium bleeding away, and she blinked the spots out of her vision. For the first time in over a week she'd been forced to slow down, and as soon as she allowed herself the luxury of rest-her body collapsed from exhaustion. She'd been unconscious for an indeterminable amount of time, and just recently rejoined the waking world. She awoke to a bare room; white walls, wood floors, nothing of sentimental value to be seen. The room itself was spacious and orderly: it just screamed Yunno Scrya. No one else would drag an unconscious magic user, covered in blood through their pristine apartment, and defy all the rules of practicality and convention by leaving said magic user alone in their futon. She vaguely remembered succumbing to fatigue on his doorstep last night too. Presently, she supposed it was time to wake up and move again. She needed to talk to Yunno.<p>

There was no rest for the wicked.

However, the mere thought of leaving the warmth and protection of the futon made an unpleasant shudder ripple through her. She was in a bad way. Physically, her limbs felt heavy like gravity was constantly pressing down on her-suffocating her. Mentally, she'd been trying to gather herself for the past twenty minutes but she couldn't see past Fate's mesmeric ruby gaze, a gaze that insisted on invading her thoughts while she was awake and asleep.

The loathing in those eyes haunted her.

Sighing, Nanoha covered her eyes in exasperation, like that would shield her from the accusatory look her subconscious was taunting her with. "Go away." She murmured, trying to shoo the image out of her head. It was hard enough to concentrate without Fate constantly distracting her.

It was a terrible habit of the blonde's

"Go away? You came here to see me, remember?"

Nanoha peeked curiously between the gaps in her fingers-that were still hiding her eyes, and was greeted by a familiar ferret-like face. "Yunno!" She crowed, sitting up abruptly, and making herself dizzy. Yunno saw her swaying slightly, and crossed the distance between them so he could gently push her back into the futon. "So I really did make it here, last night." Nanoha mused lightly to herself as she relaxed against the sheets. She'd made an inference, guessing she was in Yunno's apartment, but until he actually walked into the room she wasn't sure.

Seeing her friend was a relief.

Her eyes raked over him sharply. "Do you have the jewel shard?"

The entire debacle last night would have been for nothing if the jewel shard was not in his possession.

At her steely look Yunno nodded. Covertly his gaze flickered over to the secret compartment hidden in the corner of his room. She'd seen him vault many a jewel shard in that little storage space. At her count, they should be at nine. She'd entrusted all of them to Yunno. Insofar as she could see, he kept his word and all of them were safe. "You brought it to me last night, and I put it with all the others." He informed her, his voice hardly raising above a hushed whisper.

Hearing the sincerity in his words, Nanoha flashed her ferret-like friend a small smile. "Thank you Yunno." She said softly, curling into the pillows. She'd managed to accomplish something than last night beyond earning Fate's ire then. Collecting jewel shards unlike some of her other less savory ventures, was not just a hobby-it was a prerogative; a goal. Her hands tightened around the edges of her pillow-a goal that she came dangerously close to failing last night.

"Nanoha is everything alright?" Her trusted informant veered her self-deprecating thoughts off course before they could start. Yunno placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, silently asking her what was wrong and how he could help. "I talked to Subaru. She said you've been killing yourself out there to get these jobs done." His voice trailed off, and she could practically feel his concerned hazel eyes boring holes in her skull. "She said you haven't slept in days, and her sensors indicate that you've been underusing your magic, which means you've been coughing up blood again...We're worried about you."

"I'm fine Yunno." Nanoha replied brazenly, brushing off his concern.

She hated worrying her friends.

She was well aware of how poorly she'd been taking care of herself.

Subaru had to constantly remind her to eat, and Yunno was the ever present voice of reason always curtailing her mission-and reminding her not to endanger herself.

Her friends _grounded_ her.

And yet...right now she felt like she was free falling.

A calloused hand stroked her forehead. "You're not fine Nanoha. You're..."

He wasn't able to divine words to describe how fine she was not. Nanoha was many things, but fine was not one of them. She grumbled as his fingers gently wove through her hair, a privilege that currently, only Subaru and himself were blessed with. She rather enjoyed getting her head petted, she wasn't picky about who was doing it. "I'm fine." She insisted stubbornly. The brunette refused to admit how pitiful she really felt.

"Alright Nanoha." He submitted easily enough letting the topic drop. He seemed to accept that she wasn't ready to talk about it. Yunno was always careful not to force her into anything, or put her into a position where she felt obligated to speak. All the truths between them were given freely, not excavated from each other like miners looking for gold.

Her eyelids fell to halfmast and she hummed a little, as she felt his fingers dancing along her scalp. "How long have I been asleep?"

"A full day."

That got her attention.

Her head whipped around and she sent him a quizzical look. At the quick motion-His hand fell away from her. "A day? I should be in class right now." She murmured, studying his face for lies. Yunno didn't lie though, and that meant she really had missed a day, and that today was Monday, and that Subaru was alone at Okazu High with Fate. "This is bad." She realized after a moment of contemplation.

"What's bad?" Yunno asked, quirking a questioning brow.

"Subaru is alone with Tea, Suzuku-chan, Arisa-chan, and Fate-chan," Nanoha reported with a groan, cradling her head.

His eyes widened at her words. "That could be problematic."

No...really?

Nanoha glanced up at the ceiling. Would it be alright to leave Subaru alone to face the masses?

She bit her lip thoughtfully.

"Help me up Yunno-kun."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Subaru stood poised on the roof, all of her senses trained on the woman in front of her. She was keenly aware of every shift in the wind, and of every single muscle and sinew in her body that was aching for action. Ginga Nakajima was not a person to be trifled with, and Subaru would not be taken by surprise today. Judging by her sister's amused expression, she wasn't planning anything too insidious at the moment-though it was hard to tell. Subaru wasn't very adept at reading Ginga anymore. There was a time when she idolized her sister, and wanted to be just like her. Ginga was graceful, invulnerable, beautiful-she embodied everything Subaru aspired to be. Because of those qualities-she used to be able _read_ her.

Not anymore.

The time for ease in discerning each other was over. Now, just the sight of Ginga put her on edge.

"Why are you here Ginga?" She hissed, unable to keep the strain out of her voice.

Things were going so well.

She was finally starting to feel at home here.

She was finally starting to find a purpose that superseded that of her cyborg counterpart.

Then Ginga had to show up.

Ginga-who effortlessly crushed her world under heel when she was a child, was now continuing her reign of terror. It was not an experience she wished to relive again. This time Nanoha wasn't here to sedate her sister. Subaru was the only one present who knew what type of danger Ginga reperesented, and had any hope of stopping her if things took a turn for the worse.

Her sister smiled serenely. "So this is where you've been hiding. High school...and I suppose your owner is here too."

Subaru scowled. "I have no owner. Nanoha is my friend." She stressed the word friend heavily, anger rising steadily at the implication in her sister's words. Ginga was pointing out that cyborgs did not have friends, because inherently, they weren't human and could be programmed to feel anything for anyone. Nanoha was a technological genius, and by design, was also her repairman. Half of the advancements in Subaru's exoskeleton could be attributed to her. Nanoha also took care of renovating her system, and upgrading her biotechnics. By Ginga's definition, that made Nanoha her owner.

"Still naïve I see." Ginga chuckled, a condescending smirk creeping across her face.

"Why are you here?" Subaru repeated herself.

She tired quickly of games, and that's all this was to Ginga- a game.

"Aren't we testy today?" Her sister's voice was silk, but the malice underneath was evident. There was a sudden chill in the air as Ginga drew closer, an icy expression domineering her features. "Don't worry Subaru-I'm not here for you, or your owner. I'm here by someone else's design, _for _someone else entirely."

What?

Someone not something?

So she wasn't after the jewel shards?

She tilted her head to the side, unbridled curiosity overcoming her obvious reluctance to speak. "Who are you here for?"

Ginga smiled again.

It wasn't a pleasant smile, and Subaru found herself tensing involuntarily. "What do you know about Fate Harlaowan?" Fate Harlaowan? Subaru's brow furrowed. Nanoha's Fate? What could Ginga possibly be up to that involved the blonde mage? Her lips thinned into an unhappy line. Last she spoke to Ginga she'd aligned herself with some shady people, but no one of mentionable name or import. However, this did not sound like the inquiries of a lesser faction. No insignificant person would be asking after the head of the Riot Force Six. A feeling of dread coursed through her. What did Ginga want with Fate?

"I don't know her." Subaru replied carefully, trying to keep a neutral expression.

She refused to betray what little she knew of Fate.

Nanoha would never forgive her.

"Really?" Ginga drawled, her eyes gleaming in a way that was far too happy to be innocent. Already, Subaru felt out of her league, like her sister had an unfair window into her thoughts and knew she was lying. Maybe that wasn't possible-Telepathy was not a bond they shared, but Ginga was unsually perceptive. Odds are she knew Subaru was lying anyways. As if reading her doubt, Ginga pressed on, easily preying upon her concern. "So you don't know who she really is. What a delightful situation I find myself in..."

"What are you talking about now Ginga?" She asked warily, eyeing her older sibling as if she was a particularly venomous snake about to strike.

"You have no idea how interesting a specimen Fate is." Ginga remarked coolly, examining the railings of the rooftop with interest. "However, if you don't know why she's so interesting, I won't be the one to enlighten you." Her blunette sibling turned away, and the intense sense of foreboding she'd been harboring since this discussion began started to dissipate. Her sister was up to something, but for now she could breathe easily.

Whatever her sister was plotting would not be set in motion today.

Turning on her heel, Ginga began to stride quickly towards the door leading back into the school building. She moved with purpose, but halfway to her destination she paused, leering over her shoulder at Subaru. "By the way, keep an eye out for your friend. Tea-chan was it? She hangs out with an interesting crowd, and she's so incredibly _delicate_, no?" Her sister all but purred, and Subaru's jaw almost fell to the ground.

She had to work to keep her composure.

Ginga knew about Tea?

The revelation was startling, and completely unwelcome. Subaru licked her lips, and a nervous bark of laughter escaped her. "Tea's stronger than she looks" She tried to calm her erratic heartbeat, and still her shaking fists. "I wouldn't threaten her if I were you." She advised her sister lowly; dangerously. Tea wasn't like Nanoha, Yunno, or even Fate. Tea was human, and not involved in any of this. Her azure gaze became frosty as she met Ginga's gaze. "Leave her alone."

Ginga tsk'ed as her hand closed around the door knob in front of her. "We'll see. I have yet to determine what position she plays in all of this. She might just be another expendable pawn." Ginga shrugged carelessly opening the door. She winked back in Subaru's direction, infuriating the younger cyborg with her blatant disregard, before gliding back into the school. Before the door closed shut behind her Subaru was able to pick up a chipper; "I've missed you Subaru-I'll see you around, ne?"

Subaru closed her eyes as the door slammed, and she was left with nothing but her thoughts as company.

Suffice to say, that went terribly. Normally her interactions with Ginga were filled with culpable tension, and lots of verbal aggression-but at the end of it all they at least made their positions clear. Her most recent rendezvous with her sister not only left her completely bewildered, but it left her with an acute sense of helplessness. Not only did she have no idea what her sister wanted-she had no idea who Ginga worked for, or why she was pursuing her ambiguous goal so relentlessly. Subaru grit her teeth, almost ready to tear her hair out. She had never been so confused in all her life, and what was Ginga talking about- these interesting people that Tea hangs out with? Teanna wasn't social by nature, and so most of her friends were acquaintances at best. Subaru hadn't the faintest clue who Tea insisted on spending her time with because they rarely talked anymore. The only person who Subaru ever saw lurking around Tea like a well trained dog was Vice, and she didn't need Ginga to tell her to watch him.

She already hated him.

He had this conceited air about him that she detested. He acted like he was entitled to everything, and every wayward touch and caress of Tea's skin that he was permitted to have made Subaru dislike him more. He had no idea how privileged he was.

Teanna...couldn't even look at her anymore let alone endure her touch, which was ironic because her touch was completely platonic-while his was anything but.

Subaru scowled, and unthinkingly, her clenched fist slammed into the railing.

She didn't have to look to know there was a dent there now.

"How did things become so complicated?" She mused to herself, turning to lean against the railing. Feeling the strain of the last ten minutes, she slowly slid to the ground-slumping against the cold metal. She didn't know why she was agonizing over this. Love was never a battlefield she stood a chance in. Her infatuation with Tea was something that would stay unrequited. Even if her stubborn friend did reciprocate her feelings, she wouldn't be able to invest everything into a relationship. She had more pressing concerns: Nanoha, the jewel shards, Ginga's poisonous new interest in Fate.

And Teanna had Vice.

Subaru buried her face in her hands with a groan.

**Is everything alright my master? **

Mach Caliber resonated against her chest, feeling the copious amount of frustration she was drowning in through their bond and responding in kind. Her weapon's device was a small comfort in the face of the maelstrom of emotions assaulting her. Subconsciously, her hand went to her neck where Mach Caliber was hidden on a chain beneath her shirt during school hours, and she stroked the cool surface.

_I'm fine._

**Your accelerated heartbeat, slightly increased perspiration levels, and unusual breathing patterns indicate otherwise.**

Subaru huffed irritably.

It was impossible to lie to a weapon's device that could read your vitals.

_I'm a tad...distressed that's all. This has not been a good day._

That was an understatement.

The day had been shot to hell as soon as Ginga arrived.

**Indeed**

Subaru sighed, and slowly let her head fall back with a heavy thunk against the metal railing. The first vestiges of exhaustion were creeping into her limbs, and mechanically she began shutting down some of her systems. After an eventful morning like the one she'd just had, a nap was in order. That meant she was going to miss most of the afternoon classes, so Literature, Biology, and gym. She closed her eyes, resting her head against the metal bars.

She'd catch up eventually.

Maybe.

Or never-she thought with a smile, as sleep began to claim her.

* * *

><p><strong>That was annoyingly short. I mean...7 pages is a joke xD Think of it as an appetizer. Next chapter will be a full meal. <strong>

**R and R lemme know what you think!**


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